A/N- I wrote this fic a few months ago, but recently I reread it and thought, "OH MY GOD. MUST. FIX. NOW.", so I throughly edited it and am now 100% happy with it!
This is my favorite fanfic I've written, so please tell me what you think :)

Enjoy!

"Potter! Hey, Potter!"

Harry closed his eyes and sighed as he took a bite. He didn't need to turn around to know who was calling him.

"Just ignore it." Hermione quickly whispered next to him. Although he tried, Harry couldn't finish his steak and potatoes with that annoying drawl in the background.

"Let's get outta here." Ron said, sensing Harry's irritablilty and glancing menacingly at the Slytherin table behind Harry and Hermione. "Alright." Harry agreed as he stood up and slipped his bag onto his shoulder. He had to finish his monthly predictions for Divination, anyway.

As the three friends walked out of the Great Hall and climbed the main staircase to the Gryffindor Tower, the taunting still lingered.

"What, Potter? Have to go run to your mummy? Oh wait...you can't... she's DEAD!"

A rush of infuriation swept through Harry like a wave. He whipped around to see none other than Draco Malfoy on the first step, grinning smugly, with Crabbe and Goyle backing him up: the usual. The malicious glint in Malfoy's eye made Harry want to punch him, forget magic all together. Only the six of them were in the Hall as everyone else was still eating.

"D'you miss your mum, Potter?" Malfoy asked with mock sympathy dripping from every word. Harry wasn't going to take this tonight. He took a vigorous step down the stairs towards Malfoy, fuming.

"Shut your damn mouth, you overgrown-"

But Malfoy continued; he knew he had hit the nerve. His ornery grin grew even bigger as he folded his arms against his chest.

"Nuh uh uh, Harry ... I don't think your parents would approve of such language... But yet, what does it matter? You already disgrace your family name enough by hanging around that penniless ginger and filthy mudblood..."

Harry heard Ron suck in a sharp intake of breath behind him. Anger and hatred rose in Harry's chest as he tried to breathe steadily.

Now facing each other on the stairs, only a few steps seperated the boys, with their two silent comrades standing silently behind them. Malfoy chuckled coldly. "I knew it." he sighed, as if he'd won an argument. "You're too much of a coward to even-"

Before Ron and Hermione could stop him, Harry bounded down the steps until his face was inches from Malfoy's. With his wand pointed at his enemy's throat and beads of sweat trickling behind his glasses, he stared into those cold grey eyes.

"Say one more thing," Harry snarled, "or I'll-" But he was interrupted.

"You'll what, Mr. Potter?"

Ron, Hermione and Harry all turned around to see Professor Snape standing at the top of the steps. Cold and shadowed eyes bored into Harry's through his greasy black hair.

"My office." he said curtly, not taking his eyes off Harry. "Now."

The Potions master then decended the left side of the stairs with a swish of his robes and walked down the hallway leading to his classroom.

Harry turned back to Malfoy with more enmity than ever before. Malfoy returned the look with a smirk. He knew Snape would be on his side.

Just then, a "You too, Mr. Malfoy." rang out from down the corridor. Malfoy's smirk faltered a little, but Harry didn't feel much better. As Malfoy quietly commerced with his cronies, Harry threw a bleak glance to Hermione and Ron.

Clutching her Charms textbook to her chest, Hermione whispered quickly, "Just tell him what really happened."

"Yeah," Harry thought miserably as he turned away from his friends to follow Malfoy down the hallway, "Like Snape's going to listen to me anyway."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The two teens walked in silence, pressed against opposite sides of the hall, trying to avoid any type of contact with each other whatsoever.

Finally they reached Snape's office in the dungeons. As Harry walked through the door first, Malfoy shoved him hard and nearly knocked him over. Harry looked up: Professor Snape sat at his desk, absorbed in writing something. He didn't notice what just happened, or maybe, pretended not to.

Glaring at Malfoy, the students both walked into the small office. It was quite dark and slightly damp inside. Erie-looking jars of strange ingredients on shelves casted long shadows on the floor. Instead of having pictures of friends and family on the mantelpiece like most teachers, thick dust-covered books were stacked on top.

The only welcoming thing in the room was the fire, which was to the right of Snape's desk. It cackled happily in the hearth and was burning what looked like failed essays.

"Sit." Snape commanded without looking up from his work. They both sat down in the uncomfortable armchairs in front of him. One nemesis in front of him, the other to the left, and both of them, basically, in cahoots. There was no way Harry would be able to get out of this.

Snape finally raised his head and looked at Malfoy as though Harry wasn't in the room. "Begin, if you please." he said, interlocking his fingers on the desk.

Malfoy briskly glimpsed at Harry, then started. "Well, sir," He used that high-pitched, suck-up voice he usually spoke to teachers with, "I saw Harry dropped his quill on his way out of dinner, so I rushed out of the Hall to pick it up and give it to him. The next thing I knew, sir, he had his wand out and threatened to kill me."

Harry's jaw nearly dropped, "That lying bastard!" he thought with clenched fists.

"I see." Snape replied when Malfoy finished. The two of them seemed to share an knowing look, and Malfoy smirked yet again when Snape then turned to Harry. Now Harry understood why Snape brought Blondie along: to humiliate him, Harry.

"Did you deliberately point you wand at Mr. Malfoy, Potter?" Snape spoke slowly with evident loathing in his voice.

"Yes, sir, but-"

"And did you threaten to take his own life?"

"Sir, he was-"

Snape cut him off again. But before he spoke, he looked at Harry for a few long seconds. Softly, he asked, "He what, Potter?"

Harry thought before he spoke this time. "He insulted my parents, sir."

Snape"s expression didn't change. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, an ugly smile spread across his lips.

"Well, of course he did, you foolish boy. Your father was a vain, worthless idiot; he deserves to be spoken of in such way. And your mother-"

Snape stopped abruptly. He stared wistfully in between Harry and Malfoy's heads. Harry was even tempted to look behind him to see what Snape was looking so intently at.

Then ... it couldn't be ... was that a tear in Snape's eye...?

Snape must have come out of his trance extremely angry a few moments later, because his eyes hardened and his scowl returned.

"Both of you! Detention!" he barked at them.

Malfoy looked appalled. "But sir! I didn't even-"

"No excuses!" Snape glowered for the first time at his favorite student. "Report to this room at eight o'clock! You will be scrubbing the floors: no magic! NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Harry and Malfoy both scrambled out of their seats and practically fought their way through the door. As soon as they were out of earshot from the dungeons, Malfoy turned to Harry and sneered,

"Look what you got us into, you prat! Bring an extra shirt. We'll need some rags anyway!"