Disclaimer: Any recognisable characters, setting and scenarios are owned by the wonderful and amazing J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros and other suchlikes. I am making no money and am doing this for purely entertainment purposes, don't eat me. Also, many jokes in these belong to my humorous friends who will possibly eat me if I don't give them credit.

A/N: Hello and welcome. This story has actually been properly planned and I know where I'm going with it this time. You'll notice this is following the same basics as my original version did, only this time I know what's going to happen. I am really enjoying writing this story and so plan on updating it as regularly as possible however I do have other commitments such as school and a life (who am I kidding?) so don't expect daily posts or anything. Bear with me, this will get somewhere but we need the tension first, I'm setting the scene for you all in this chapter and don't worry there will be smut at some point. A huge thank you to every single one of my beta's including but not limited to CrackleInTheDark, my best friend Alicia and Gabrielle & Rowan(who don't have a accounts who I know through tumblr). Other than that, enjoy and bear in mind that for every review I give a sock to a house elf.

It was 30th of July, ten minutes to midnight. Harry was counting down until his birthday just like he had every year since he was old enough to know the time. He'd never known why he does this though now he's doing it again, he's ever so glad of the sense of normality and routine it was bringing him. Either that or he just didn't really want any sleep. He hadn't had any proper nightmares since the war but he knew that when he closed his eyes there was a presence there. Voldemort. He hadn't actually featured in any dreams yet, however Harry could feel him there watching, like he was waiting for something. He tried to shake it off as his mind playing tricks but he couldn't quite manage it.

After the war it felt like his life had fallen into total chaos and back to normal again all at the same time. He could finally live again without worrying that people are expecting him to become the greatest wizard ever but at the same time, nobody could have sort-of-maybe-died and come back again without changing a little.

The only time he seemed to feel like he fit in anymore was when he was with Ron and Hermione, who often stayed with him at Grimmuald Place. However now, he was alone. He didn't have Ginny or Seamus, not even Luna or Neville. He almost always had somebody there, because he relished company and he just couldn't get by on his own.

Five more minutes, then he'd be 18 and legally able to drink his current favourite beverage in his country. He wasn't exactly an alcoholic. Alcoholics were like Uncle Vernon. No, he just enjoys being a little less aware of how alone he is when it get's cold outside and the house which is too large for him alone seems even more empty than normal. Merlin, he needed to snap out of this.

Harry glanced up at the clock.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." He counted down aloud, attempting to break the silence, "Happy Birthday, Harry!"

Tipping his drink to the invisible crowd who had gathered around him to keep him company on his birthday he drank up and decided that it would be a good time to get to sleep now. He slowly pulled himself up, un-creasing his jeans and swaying slightly from the sudden movement but just as he did he heard a heavy clunk at the window. He jumped and spun around, a little disorientated by the sound. That was until he saw a bird stood impatiently on his outer windowsil. Walking over lazily and undoing the old fashioned clasp on the drafty window, he let the owl in. The owl was a large brown barn owl, probably in it's latter years and it looked at Harry in a way which clearly stated that it was far too noble and wise to be delivering letters without treats. Deciding to get rid of the haughty looking owl quickly, Harry accio'd some treats and hurriedly fed them to the owl before it hastily flew away.

Carefully sitting himself down so that he wouldn't fall, Harry opened the letter which was branded by the familiar crimson wax seal of the Hogwarts Crest.

Harry Potter,

Due to the severity of last years events and their effect on the NEWT levels and OWL levels, year groups are all going to be repeating the year to insure they get a full education. This is optional for now 8th year students as many will already have enrolled in career paths, so we wish to know who will be attending as soon as possible so that arrangements can be made.

Please ensure that you have all of the 7th year supplies which were on the list you were sent the previous year. If you no longer have this list then do not hesitate to send an owl and we will reply once again with a full list of what is needed, we also ask that you keep to the 7th year uniform of your house colours.

The train will leave at 10 O'clock on the morning of the 1st of September on platform 9 3/4 as usual, please do not miss it.

Regards, Professor McGonagall

Headmistress at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The strict formality of it all struck him, business as usual it seemed.

Any thoughts he'd had about going to bed were then completely wiped from his mind as he pondered the possibilities of Hogwarts and thought about how much it will have changed. Who will the teacher's be? Will it will be totally rebuilt? Will they have rebuilt the passageways on the Marauder's map? Is the giant squid still going to be there? All the random and pointless questions swam around in his drowning brain and he let them, not wanting to ruin the moment of childish wonderment for himself

By the time Harry went to bed at 3am he'd received 2 muggle birthday cards from Hermione and Seamus plus 3 owls with various birthday wishes on parchments from his friends.

"Harry!" Draco heard a shrill voice scream the name and nearly sighed at the sound of it. He glanced up to observe and saw Harry Potter pulled into a firm hug by a towering Ron. Harry looked at his two best friends with a ridiculous grin on his face, Draco thought, as he watched the events unfurl from his usual corner in The Leaky. They really were sickeningly happy, they'd won after all.

It wasn't the first time Draco had been to a wizarding area, but he would never get over the suspicious eyes which followed him everywhere. He'd been cleared of all charges on the basis that he really didn't have much of a choice and he'd never actually killed anyone directly. His mother and father weren't so lucky though, they were currently in a cell of Azkaban and most likely soulless by now. His father was probably getting an emotional upgrade from the Dementors, Draco thought bitterly that if he came back he might have be a nicer person.

He'd never got along with his father. However, he'd always had his mother on his side until the past year when even she couldn't stand up for Draco against his father anymore, who he knew she feared more than The Dark Lord himself. Most people who knew his father feared him or hated him, and Draco decided that after all fear and hate are probably the same thing that his father had always told him as a child was called respect.

Not once had he wanted to hurt anybody, sure he didn't like mudbloods or muggles but he'd always thought that killing them all would be a little extreme. In his opinion The Dark Lord had the cowardliness of Slytherin, outright stupidity of Gryffindor, heartlessness of a Ravenclaw and cunning of a Hufflepuff. Not a great combination.

Looking up at the 'No Smoking' sign and cursing inwardly, Draco went to step out of the quickly filling pub and step outside for a cigarette in one of the darker alleys that lead out of this dingy place. There were three people stood in the exceedingly narrow doorway when he got there, arguing about whether or not they'll be on the house Quidditch teams as 8th years.

"Excuse me." Draco said across them, not wanting to meet any of their eyes but still feeling Ron's glare, Hermione's piercing stare and Harry's strangely curious looks. There was a moment of deeply uncomfortable silence and Draco wondered if they were actually going to move.

After a few seconds they shifted to create a gap just big enough for him to walk through. He stepped sideways through them but just as he thought he'd gotten out of this encounter unscathed he heard someone ask him something.

"Are you going back to Hogwarts, Malfoy?" When he turned around the nearest few tables were listening intently.

He hadn't been planning on going back to that awful place to relive his memories and reminisce about the war any more than he'd been planning to volunteer himself for Azkaban, but it felt like letting Harry get one over on him if he didn't. He knew it was stupid but he was determined to prove to everyone, especially Harry, that he wasn't a coward and he certainly wasn't scared of anything.

"Yeah I am. Are you, Potter?" He replied disdainfully before his brain had thought about it.

"Yeah. I'll see you there." All Draco could do to that was nod in a way he thought was nonchalant and begin to walk away into the warm afternoon air.

"Unfortunately." Ron added, red in the face and looking thoroughly annoyed. Draco threw him a sarcastic smile and eyed them all before once again retreating to the streets.

Shit, fuck and bugger were the words on shuffle and repeat in Draco's head as he walked silently from the pub and turned left into a smaller alleyway that was rarely used. Had he really just said that?

Getting a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it with his wand he reminded himself why he'd tried to stay away from people the the trio. Not only did they make him feel sick to his stomach with the 'goodness' of it all but he did stupid things to prove points to people like that.

He knew it wasn't done for a Malfoy to be seen doing something as silly as smoke a muggle cigarette but he often found that he really couldn't give a shit as to what his parents would have thought, especially not his father. Infact, the fact it'd piss him off is just another great reason to do it. He loved his mother, and he's pretty sure that deep down she loved him but he would never forgive them for what they made him do.

Another heavy drag filled his lungs with the smoky heat that burned and soothed and tickled simultaneously. He leaned casually against the dirty brick wall, uncaring that it was probably ruining his deep grey shirt and slim fit jeans. He hadn't heard anyone coming so his eyes were shut when he felt the cigarette that had been hanging loosely between his slender fingers pulled away from him. He didn't need to open his eyes to know it was Pansy stood there but he did anyway. She inhaled deeply and grimaced, before spluttering a little and handing the cigarette back to him. He took a heavy drag and blew out the smoke into her face, hoping to get across the hint that she was standing too close to him but as usual she took it as an opportunity to get closer. She leaned in closer to inhale the smoke and blow it back in his face, an intimate gesture that really weird-ed Draco out in ways that she just didn't understand.

"Pants, don't." He stated blatantly, holding her gaze.

"Why not?" She stepped back but there was a fierce look in her hazel eyes that reminded him of just how annoyingly persistent she was. "Tell me why."

"You know why. I've said it before." Draco held her gaze but was itching to look away.

"Don't call me Pants, you squib."

She stared back at him for long moments before breaking the uncomfortable staring match they'd entered into by leaning against the opposite wall carefully, obviously more concerned about her appearance. She had grown up well, Draco pondered. She'd lost the look of her flat face and she'd metamorphosed into a darkly beautiful young woman, that was the problem.

"What're you going to do this year then?" She asked, pulling out a small parcel from her pocket and handed it to him. He accepted it with a questioning look, "It's yours, I found it in our Lakehouse."

"I'm going back to school." He replied while trying his hardest to sound like it was just a casual decision but the disbelieving look he got was one that demanded an explanation he didn't want to give, "I just figure there's nothing else to do. What about you?"

"Me too. I don't want to be at home on my own for any longer than I must." Pansy said offhandedly, but Draco knew how much she hated to be alone.

"Have you spoken to Blaise?" Rapidly trying to change the subject of the school he swore never to return to.

"He's at his mother's trail at the moment, apparently she's going to get out of it. Unfair really, she was worse than my parents put together. They didn't even take the fucking mark." The hurt was obvious in her voice as she spoke, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"Mmmhmm." Draco was used to that kind of comment now, at least when it was Pansy he knew that she never meant it to be an insult towards him.

"I'm meeting Greg, do you want to come?" She asked, although she knew the answer.

"No. I need to get some shopping done, then I think I'll head back to The Manor. Thanks, though." He reasoned, taking another drag and setting his head back against the wall again.

She stepped forward and pushed his hair out of his eyes. He'd been letting it fall naturally most days, feeling less and less bothered about it all the time although he actually thought he looked quite good with it a little messier.

"I can't decide whether I like this new persona on you, or not." She stated plainly, and walked back out of his favourite alleyway and down into Knockturn Alley where she was no doubt meeting Greg at The Cage. Draco hadn't been there yet, it was the latest food-based edition to the darker side of Wizarding London and it was supposed to be very nice, considering.

He finished off his cigarette, stubbed it out on the ground and walked out into Diagon Alley. It was as crowded and loud as it usually was at mid-afternoon in the weeks before Hogwarts started, full of parents and children all looking for school supplies. All of them blatantly staring at him as if he'd kill them and their children at any given opportunity. Maybe school wasn't a great idea after all...

Draco stepped into Madam Malkins' and half expected to be hexed, he instead was greeted with a cold but professional service as he bought a new uniform.

"I think they'll have a separate living quarters for us, you know?" Hermione said very seriously, she was excited at the prospect of getting back to school and was exploring every possibility.

She'd found her parents again. They were still at her home but there was no way she could have told them and they believe her, and she hadn't been able to figure out a simple way to undo her memory charm so she'd been stuck. Staying at The Burrow was great, but it wouldn't ever be home for someone who'd had one before and Harry could only begin to imagine how she felt. This, along with the learning and books side of things, was probably one of the main reasons Hermione was so excited about the upcoming year.

"Yeah. Do you think they'll have changed it?" Ron asked her, his feigned interest was good enough and she launched into a debate with herself as they sipped their icy Butterbeers from one of the stands which stood in the middle of the narrow street.

Everything they went through seemed to have bought Ron and Hermione closer than ever, and it seemed to Harry as though they really are in love. Hermione had stayed with the Weasley's since The Battle, she'd been with them all through everything and so has practically become part of their family already. At Fred's funeral she'd read out speeches from each member of the Weasley family who couldn't bring themselves to say it themselves as they'd buried him deep under the earth. She was so much a Weasley now that she needn't even marry into the family anymore.

George had often come and spent days at Grimmuald Place with Harry, because he couldn't bear to be in the house where Fred and himself had grown up as one and had confessed to him that it felt as though he'd lost half of himself. He'd then asked if twins were each other's horcruxes. His humour had taken a turn for the worse, it seemed.

It was getting into evening now and they had bags full of stuff they'd bought with reference to Hermione's list. They had books and uniform and ingredients and equipment to last them a lifetime, or a year at least. He could tell that his NEWTs were going to be hard. Harry had bought everything but an owl, he couldn't bare to replace Hedwig in any way. It would feel like a betrayal after everything she'd done for him and he was sure that any other owl would just feel like an oddity in his life.

The thought of losing Hedwig bought all his thoughts back to the war suddenly, and he found himself replaying the entire thing in his head.

"I wonder what happened to the room of requirement." Harry spoke aloud to himself, and his friends didn't miss it. They never missed anything he said.

"I'm not sure, but I hope we won't need it for anything too serious this year." Hermione said, spinning around and walking backwards without letting go of Ron's hand so she could face Harry, "Come on, we're meeting Ginny for dinner at The Leaky Cauldron in five minutes."

They all sped up a little and Harry marvelled to himself about how normal it all felt. Hermione and Ron were still just as they'd always been, Ginny was waiting and there wasn't anything serious to worry about. For the first time in his life he felt like he was living for himself again.

When they arrived Ginny was sat at a table waiting for them, she didn't have a drink and she didn't look like she'd been there for too long so they joined her without an apology. Ron and Hermione sat opposite her and Harry went to sit down next to her. She was one of the few girls in the school who weren't taller than him and it was a relief to not crane his neck up to her all the time. He felt comfortable to be sat with his friends, just as he always did.

They talked and ate and drank for hours and he never even noticed the time passing because he was so contented. They laughed about stupid things and did impressions of people they didn't like. They talked in depth about the upcoming year and joked about random things that sprung to mind.

One moment they were all having a perfectly decent conversation about which make of broomsticks were the best, and then Harry felt a small, warm hand on his thigh. It wasn't overtly suggestive but he knew her intentions. It wasn't as though he didn't like Ginny, he loved her and she was... She had nice skin but it just didn't feel right. Harry reached down under the table to hold her hand, putting their hands on the brown leather of the comfortable booth they were sat at. She looked at him and raised her eyebrows to ask for an explanation, she demanded to know exactly what he was thinking with an overbearing stare but Harry just shrugged and looked away, wondering why she put up with him.

Watching these moments unfold before them were Ron and Hermione, Ron looking thoroughly confused and Hermione giving Harry the look that terrified him as it was obvious she knew something he didn't.

"Well, we're um... Heading back to The Burrow. " Ron said rather awkwardly and blushed, "There's some of your birthday cake left over if you want to come?"

"You guys go, tell mum I'll either firecall or be back later." Ginny replied and smiled at them as the both got up to leave.

"See you soon!" Harry called after them, wishing they'd have stayed just a while longer so that Ginny couldn't have asked him about what just happened.

They both waved at him as they apparated with a crack next to the fireplace. He watched the dust where they'd been stood settle again after the disruption and brought his attention back to Ginny.

"What was that all about?" Ginny asked fiercely, demanding answers then and there.

Harry looked at her and realised that she really was a younger version of Molly Weasley. She was exactly the same in every single way, the way she held herself, the way she is definitely in charge and she was even starting to look a little like her mother.

"Nothing. I just don't feel like it." Harry replied, trying to keep it short and trying not to give away the hint of dishonesty in his voice.

She didn't buy it for a second, she knew Harry too well and she seemed to be able to read his mind sometimes but not always in a good way. She once again raised her eyebrows in question but when she realised that was all she was getting she rolled her eyes. Incredibly exasperated, she sighed heavily and tilted her head while leaning towards Harry, landing squarely on his shoulder. Harry didn't mind this, infact he loved her company but he couldn't make himself feel the way people expect him to about her no matter how long and hard he tried.

"You never do, do you?"

The next week passed slowly for Draco, he sat around the Manor without any desire to leave. A few people came to visit him and some of their distant family came for a short while but as he was actually an adult now and so didn't need childcare they left fairly quickly. It wasn't as if Draco didn't love this place, it was his home. However, every thing he looked at reminded him of his mother which set off an empty ache in the pit of his stomach or his father which made him feel the sudden need to break it.

Secretly, he was glad to be going to Hogwarts the following day. Dimpy was in his bedroom packing his case and he'd sent an owl to Professor McGonagall the afternoon he'd seen Harry in Diagon Alley, she'd replied professionally but he couldn't help but feel slightly unwelcome. He didn't really belong anywhere any more, not with his friends or his family or even at Hogwarts. Never really being used to being a loved character he found that he didn't mind this too much, though sometimes he thinks that he really wouldn't mind somebody to just keep him company who understands.

He heard a knock at his office door, he wasn't doing work but it was his favourite room in the house simply because it was the only room that was solely his own. Kicking his feet back off the top of his desk and stubbing out his cigarette he called out, "Come in!"

"Master, Sir. Mr Blaise Zabini has come to see you, Sir. Am I to call him through, Sir?" Wimby asked very quickly, and bowed lowly.

"Yes, bring him through." Draco said, trying not to show his surprise or excitement at the possibility of seeing his best friend again after at least 3 weeks.

Wimby bowed deeply and went to quickly drag through a very amused looking Blaise by his hand. As she shut the door behind her Draco nodded at her in thanks and she smiled broadly just as she always did. If Draco ever got really lonely he could always sit with the house elves. He nearly laughed aloud at that mental image.

"When did you get back?" Draco asked, half curiously and half accusingly.

"Yesterday evening. Just in time for school but I thought I'd come and see you before we went." Blaise replied.

He strolled around Draco's office, looking through the books on his shelves and acting as if he was the owner of the world. Draco settled back into his original position, feet up on his deep mahogany desk as he grabbed his mug of coffee and held in one hand carelessly. Casually as anything, Blaise leaned against the windowsill opposite Draco's desk so they were facing one another head on and Blaise's face said it all. He wanted to talk.

"How did the trial go?" Trying to keep his voice as business-like as possible.

"Last minute evidence came up against her. Nothing anyone could say or do. We still don't know the decision but it wasn't looking good. I should be getting an owl but she's making me go to school while they hold her." He was so obviously in turmoil but like all good Slytherin's he kept it all well hidden under a face of perfect calm.

"You can always come and live with me, you know." Draco knew that it wasn't his mother he was worried about losing. It was the fact that he wasn't technically the heir to anything if the Wizengamot decided she was going to Azkaban, simply because he'd been written out of his families wills until he proved himself. Obviously, once he had it was too late for them to change it.

"I know, but even if you're my best friend that would be ridiculously undignified for a Pure Blood to lose everything and have to move in with someone as a charity case." The smirk on his mouth as he said that showed something that contrasted with the look of worry in his eyes. He crossed his ankles over one another and looked down at the floor again, still leaning heavily against the deep windowsill.

"That's true." Retorting with dark sarcasm, "Spoken to Pants?"

"She hates being called that. I think she'd hex anyone for it, even you." Blaise grinned teasingly, pointing out her infatuation with him, "No. Not since she saw me at The Ministry, and I think she's a little pissed that I had a chance at keeping my mother when she didn't."

"Her parents were the only ones who ever seemed to care." Draco finished his coffee and reached for another cigarette, "Want one?"

"Narcissa cared, you know she did."

"Yeah well, she cared less than her fear of her husband. That doesn't count. So?" Draco replied, waving his packet in the air in front of him.

Blaise simply nodded and put out his hand as Draco muttered "flammio"and lit two, stretching across his desk to hand one to Blaise and putting another in his mouth.

"I've never liked these, you know? They're disgusting." Musing to himself, Blaise studied the glowing tip as he spoke.

Draco knew that now wasn't the time to comment on the fact it can't be that terrible if he's smoking one, so they lounged in silence for a long time.

Blaise was the same as ever, he still had his hair shaved neatly and close to his head, he still had deep ebony skin that contrasted starkly against his crisp white shirt that he wore with a fitted pinstripe black suit and various richly coloured ties. Today he'd picked a crimson tie, with the slightest shimmer to it and matching cuff links. It seems he too, had discovered that the world of what muggles believe to be their fashion is actually run by wizards and was therefore acceptable to be seen in. He looked good, just as he always did. Draco wondered how he'd managed to have such good taste in everything and to always look immaculately groomed with everything that was going on.

Draco really had become to neglect his life. It was now a regular occurrence for him to be found in tight jeans and an undone shirt, ridiculously and disgustingly casual by any pure blood's standards. He'd also been doing his families socialising less and less, the pretentious cunts his parents had called friends just weren't to his taste.

Blaise sauntered over to the desk, stubbed out his cigarette in Draco's crystal ash tray and smiled absently, "I remember when this was our secret room... And we used to hide in here when my parents came to get me, because only you and the house elves knew the password."

His voice was distant and it was obvious that his mind was reliving the only time in their childhood's they'd had actual fun.

"And we just sat in here practicing magic for hours."

"Yeah." His face suddenly grew a little more serious and he added, "I'd better get going. I'll come visit you in the holidays if I don't see you before then."

"You'll see me tomorrow, unless you avoid me." Draco said, he'd totally forgotten to tell Blaise about his sudden change of heart towards Hogwarts.

"Really? What made you change your mind?"

There was absolutely no use in lying to him. He knew Draco better than Pansy did and so he'd see straight through that lie in a second.

"Saw Potter. He asked and I didn't want to say no." He opted to just be honest.

"You really do need to get over that." Blaise was saying, "Your little thing with him. You know what they say; love or hate, it's still an obsession."

"Fuck off."

"Great, see you on the train." With that, Blaise winked at him and walked back out of the study before he apparated presumably back to his home.