Simple Slytherin

A/N I have no idea why i am posting this, as so far i have no plot and only the barest idea of where this is going. Oh well. And beware, this is slash, so if you don't like that leave now.

Otherwise, enjoy the fic!

Harry knew it was a bad idea, to do this again so soon. But watching the other boy sleep was like a perverse drug that Harry craved. An hour sitting there, staring at the pale smooth skin without a smirk or sneer as the other boy explored a realm that was kept from Harry, always calmed him down and opened that elusive world of dreams for Harry. Dreams that soothed and calmed and rested Harry, rather than nightmares that tormented and left him screaming and gasping for breath. So night after night found Harry here.

The first time he had been as good as sleep walking under his invisibility cloak. He couldn't remember what had compelled him to the dungeons, or how he had found himself outside the particular bit of wall that protected the Slytherin common room so well from the rest of the school. Harry remembered the first time, that time he had spent over five minutes just running his hands over the stone, before finally saying simply 'Please open.'

It wasn't sad or desperate, simply a request. Why it came out as a smooth and soft hiss of Parseltongue Harry was unsure. Maybe because he was so entranced at the time that the two languages really did merge as one. Maybe because the low hiss seemed so much more appropriate, less coarse, special and respectful. It spoke volumes of empathy, sadness and joy, solace and socialness.

It opened. There was no fanciness, no flourish of pride. Harry hadn't asked for that, and the room seemed to understand. He had only asked for there to be a decent way in, and that was the simple way that the room opened. Harry didn't even think before he stepped through.

Thankfully it was empty this late at night. Harry remembered that first glance at the room that was decorated mainly in deep greens, silver and greys and of course black. Ever elegant, ever stylish Harry had noticed that it wasn't as cold and blank as he had first imagined, but protective and private. Beautiful, in a slightly haunted way, and Harry couldn't help but think that he could have been happy here, if only he'd let himself.

The next night he had returned, drawn to the simplitistic beauty and comfort that he found in the walls that made up Slytherin territory. It didn't even cross his mind that he wasn't allowed there, wasn't meant to be there. He was meant to be there. This room and all it stood for could have been, should have been right for him. He could feel that it would have made him into a very different person, but still a good and powerful wizard.

Rather than being influenced by Malfoy or some pure-blooded dark wizard, Harry could have influenced them. He could feel it, as clear as Trelawny claimed to be able to see death omens all over Harry's hand. And although technically Harry had no business there, he returned night after night, to his second home. It would never represent or replace Gryffindor, but it simply stood for a different part of him. Gryffindor was homely, friendly, cosy, happy and warm. It embraced him and he had many happy memories of it. Gryffindor had his two best friends.

Slytherin was testing and untrustworthy at first, but this was because it was fiercely loyal to those it took under its wing. There were unspoken codes of course, but these were more than just mindless protocol. Though to the rest of the school the Slytherins were mean to them, there was no internal bullying or betrayal within the house, even when some of them had joined the Dark Lord and others hadn't. There was no blood prejudices, and Slytherin took just as many Muggle-born students as Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. In this house however they trained them in more than just magical skill.

You learnt how to be a wizard, not just how to wield a wand. You learnt diplomacy and even basic etiquette just from being around Slytherins. You learnt to support one another, especially knowing that no one else would.

Harry spent many nights wondering what it would be like had he accepted the hat and gone into Slytherin, but these were fruitless thought Harry well knew. He had some wonderful times in Gryffindor, and he would never give them up. He was a Gryffindor, but part of him would always be a Slytherin.

But what difference was there really? Outside of Hogwarts, Gryffindors and Slytherins meant nothing. Foolish rivalries and stupid prejudices that weren't needed in any way. Harry knew this first hand, and as a result often considered himself a Slytherin as much as a Gryffindor.

He had been coming for a week the first time he had seen any one in the common room, and it had really surprised himself when he had found Draco Malfoy slumped but still with dignity over an essay in a corner with desks. He had looked so peaceful, a peace that Harry hadn't felt for so long. Harry had sat on a leather sofa and simply watched the angel across from him sleep.

The next night Draco hadn't been there, and Harry had gone looking for him, searching for that inner peace that was denied him. He had found on the fifth night.

And now it was the beginning of October, and Harry Potter was deep in Slytherin watching Draco Malfoy sleep.

He was so close to Draco, looking at his closed lids, when they opened sharply without warning and stared straight at Harry. Who suddenly remembered his cloak was at the end of Draco's bed. The same moment it seemed, that a sleepy Draco Malfoy came to his senses and screamed. Very, very loudly.

Draco's bed was at the wrong end of the dormitory, furthest from the door, meaning that there would soon be another four Slytherin boys stopping him from leaving. And he get to realise just how protective of their own the Slytherins were.

And Draco just kept screaming, gradually putting words into the pure horror of sound in his voice that sounded to Harry suspiciously like his on last name. Something along the lines of,

'PPPPPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR!!!!HELPHELPHELPPOTTERPOTTERPOTTERAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!'

many times over, to varying degrees. Harry was rooted to the spot, staring at Draco who was just staring at Harry and screaming worse than when Ron had found Sirius standing over him in third year.

And then all hell broke loose.

'Potter?' said the oh-so-familiar sneer of the worlds most hated Professor. 'What the hell are you doing here?'

Harry unfroze just enough to let himself turn around to face the calculating glare that was focussed at him from Professor Snape.

'Shut up, Draco,' added another, younger voice that Harry vaguely remembered from the hallways but couldn't put a face or name to. 'Its just Potter for Gods sakes.'

'Exactly,' said Draco, trying to sound scathing but he was breathing too fast. 'How would you feel Blaise, if you woke up to find him standing over you?'

'Like Christmas had come early,' answered Blaise smoothly and with a grin at Harry. 'I wouldn't wake up the entire house either with my little princess wails either.'

'Shut up, Zabini, just coz Draco isn't perverted like you.' Said another unrecognised voice.

'Um, yes he is-' Blaise was cut off by Snape.

'That's enough you two.' He said smoothly, before turning his rage back to Harry. 'Well, Potter?' yes, the rage was definitely back. 'Why are you here, of all places? How did you get in I'd also like to know?'

Harry decided to skip the first question altogether. 'Erm, through the door?' was his only answer.

Snape's face darkened, but the effect was ruined by the two voices that Harry didn't recognise burst out into laughter. Draco turned angrily to them.

'Shut up Nott! And you Zabini! I don't see what is so funny here!'

'I do,' said the newly identified Nott. 'You woke up screaming as if it was You-Know-Who standing over you when its just Potter, and then he just says he came in through the door! I think this is hilarious, he doesn't even know how he got here!'

'Of course I know how I got here.' Said Harry as if he was talking to someone who was very slow. 'But so do all of you. We all came through the door.'

'Which door Potter?' said Snape in a voice that suggested that he thought that Harry was either very slow or incredibly smart or both, but was going to reserve judgment until he understood the situation. Harry was shocked to find that Snape possessed such a tone.

'The door, Professor. From the dungeons. Its hidden by a piece of wall, leads into the common room. It's the door, the entrance, the way in, Professor. You know? The door. Surely you have heard of it? Or someone in this room?'

Blaise dissolved into laughter again, but he was the only one to do so. The other Slytherins in the room, Snape included simply stared at him in pure, undiluted shock.

'How did you know that, Potter?' Snape finally croaked out. 'That information isn't just bandied around the school. Its meant-' here he seemed to speak to the rest of the room as well, 'to be guarded closely, as well as the password, which changes regularly.'

Harry couldn't help a smirk spreading across his lips. 'Malfoy showed me, Professor.' He said sweetly.

Draco looked appalled. 'I did not!' he said quickly.

Snape narrowed his eyes. 'Explain. Both of you.'

The stricken look on Malfoy's face was too much for Harry, and he started laughing.

'He didn't mean to, Professor. We tricked him long ago when he was naïve and unrefined.'

Nott was looking interested now, and Blaise had stopped laughing.

'And how did you trick Mr. Malfoy, Potter?' said Snape again in that tone, and Harry suddenly realised that he hadn't lost any points yet and that was nigh impossible considering that he had just been caught in the Slytherin dorms with no excuse whatsoever.

'Um, its kind of embaressing actually.' Said Harry, but he was grinning at the memory of him and Ron and Hermione brewing the Polyjuice Potion in an abandoned bathroom. 'We were incredibly naïve ourselves actually.'

'We?' said Nott, sounding genuinely interested in the story.

'Yeah. Hermione and Ron and I.' Harry clarified.

'You all know where our common room is?' Draco all but shrieked.

'Well yes, but only Ron and I were able to come in.' Harry answered, sitting down on Draco's bed. Draco moved away slowly.

'Explain, Potter.' Snape snarled. The effect was somewhat ruined by Blaise mouthing, 'Get on with the story!' behind Snape's back.

'Um, its was in second year when the chamber of secrets was opened. The entire school seemed to think that I was attacking people with the monster when-'

'Wait, the Chamber was actually opened? And it exists? And there was a monster and everything?' interrupted Nott. Harry looked at him strangely.

'Yes.' He said as if this was obvious. 'And I think I would know, if anyone does.'

'Why? You're not in this house.' Said Draco in what was clearly a sulky kind of voice.

'I might not have been sorted into this house, but that doesn't change what happened, which included my finding and entering the Chamber, and killing the big scary monster inside. So yes, I believe I would remember, even if you only cared about the Ministry raids on your house and how your father was moving more and more of your Dark Arts junk into the secret room under your drawing room.' Harry answered with a little annoyance.

'HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!?' Malfoy was shrieking again in a room full of staring Slytherins.

'What was the monster inside?' asked Crabbe, who Harry had forgotten about.

Harry ignored Draco and turned to Crabbe. 'A basilisk. Nasty bugger as well, but not as bad as the arse that was controlling it I suppose.' He added as an after thought. He hadn't thought of the Chamber since he left it the last time, and vaguely wondered why.

Now the Slytherins were staring in silent and reluctant awe. 'You killed a basilisk?' said Blaise in a very small voice. 'How?'

'I seem to remember running it through with a very large sword.'

'No magic?' asked Nott. Harry shrugged.

'Didn't have my wand. I did have a bloody great sword though.'

Snape was looking at Harry strangely, as if his was fighting several different emotions. 'What did you do then?' he finally asked in a very unSnapelike manner.

'I destroyed the bugger that was trying to kill me with my own wand.' Harry said as if this was perfectly obvious. 'The heir of Slytherin, for clarification. And' he added at the faces he was getting. 'don't look at me like that. He was killing Ginny Weasley, had just set a bloody basilisk on me, was about to kill me and had been petrifying people all year. And he was, um is, an evil murdering sod. And if you feel it was such a great loss it wasn't because he is alive again now.'

'Who...?' said Goyle, speechless.

'Um, duh.' Said Harry, feelling very surreal. 'It was Voldemort. Who else would it be? Then again,' added Harry with a grin as he nodded at Draco. 'We thought it was this idiot for over a month.'

'You thought I was the heir of Slytherin?' said Draco uncertain as to whether this was an insult or a compliment. Harry simply shrugged, again wondering at how he had ended up in this situation.

'Which is why we broke into Slytherin. With Malfoy's help of course.' He was met with more blank looks. Harry sighed dramatically.

'We made Polyjuice Potion, turned into Crabbe and Goyle, found Malfoy and spent a wonderful hour in his presence. Pity about Mione though. Got a cat hair and turned into this weird thing with a tail and cat eyes and everything. Hilarious at the time, but I was the one who had to find an excuse for Pomfery.'

Even more stunned faces met his gaze.

'Oh come on, its not that hard to accept, you know.' Said Harry nervously, looking for a reaction.

'You tricked me?' said Draco worriedly.

'You turned into to me?' said Goyle, confusedly.

'You made Polyjuice potion?' said Snape hoarsely.

'It wasn't that hard with Hermione explaining it you know.' Said Harry. 'I'm not that bad at potions, and we were doing it in a room with light and air and everything. Of course Hermione had to steal some of your Boomslang skin, but you didn't seem to miss it sir, now I think about it.'

'But Polyjuice is well above OWL level,' said Nott. 'And you were in second year?'

Harry grinned nervously. 'Well that's Hermione for you. She was doing Protean charms last year when we needed her to.'

'Why isn't she in Ravenclaw?' asked Blaise.

'Didn't want to be I guess. I've never asked myself, in case she asked me, but I suppose it has something to do with her morals, what she's prepared to do with her knowledge. I'd tell you a couple more stories, but I should ask her first.'

'Let me get this straight. You, Weasley and Granger made a banned potion in second year to find out if I was the heir of Slytherin and attacking people, who turned out to be Voldemort with the help of a basilisk, both of whom were dead by the end of the adventure.' Said Malfoy with a look of suspicion and reluctant praise on his face, that looked quite funny really to Harry, who nodded.

'Polyjuice isn't banned, you make a form of it later this year, but its recipe is in the restricted section of the library.' Said Snape. 'How did you manage to get it Potter?'

Harry felt a bit weird. He hadn't discussed this since he had come out of the Chamber, and now he was telling some really well guarded and private secrets to a bunch of Slytherins that he barely knew. But they felt ok to tell. They might tell the rest of Slytherin, but nothing more. They wouldn't sell him to the Prophet or anything.

'We just got Lockhart to sign a slip,' he shrugged. 'Silly git didn't even look at which book we wanted.'

'Potter...' said Snape in an almost desperate and pained voice. 'What did you do with the basilisk?'

'I killed it Professor. Why?' Harry answered, aware that he wasn't the only one in the room giving his professor a weird look.

'That not what I meant. What did you do with the carcass? Did you destroy it?'

'Professor, are you alright?' asked Draco.

'Do any of you know how precious and expensive basilisk is? They're banned and bloody hard to get your hands on! And now Potter –Potter!- is telling me that he not only found one but killed it. And only three and a half years ago. So please tell me Potter, what did you do with it?'

'Did you just say please to me?' asked Harry, bewildered.

'Potter...' Snape actually whined, and Harry laughed.

'I left the dead basilisk in the Chamber. Why? Do you want it for potion ingredients or something?'

Snape nodded, almost frantically, as if all his dreams were coming true in one fell swoop. Harry edged away from his Professor.

'Are you feeling alright Professor?' asked Nott, who it seemed was also clearly worried by Snape's behaviour.

'Basilisk...' he murmured blissfully.

The students looked at each other, sharing weird thoughts. Harry broke the silence by reaching across Malfoy's bed, grabbing his cloak and standing up, all in one smooth motion.

'Sorry, this has been great but I think I should go before he comes to his senses and starts taking points. But nice chatting, and I guess I'll see you tomorrow. And I'd prefer not to have to hex you, if its all the same to you.'

And with that speedy goodbye, Harry made a dash for the exit and back to Gryffindor.

He slept soundly with a smile on his face that night.

The Slytherins looked at their Professor, who slowly came back to the real world long enough to leave for his own rooms, and then slowly returned to the quiet sense of safety that was assoiated with their house. They didn't sleep straight away though.

'You know what was really weird about that?' Blaise asked.

'Oh no, do tell Zabini.' Draco drawled.

'How natural it felt to have Potter in our dorms, and how easy it was for us to treat him, well, nicely. Almost like he was one of us.'

There was another short silence, then Nott said, 'Draco seemed to think that it was really scary to see Potter at first though. Honestly, I'm amazed you didn't wake the entire school.'

'Oh shut up, Theo.' Said Draco. 'It was strange to wake up with him staring at me.'

'I would have thought you would have loved it,' said Blaise. 'After all, you've dreamed surprise encounters with wonder boy often enough, haven't you Draco?'

Draco's cheeks actually tinged pink and he looked away. Blaises grin only grew.

'Oh Harry, please Harry, yes, yes, right there Harry, more please oh yes that's right yes!' said Blaise in quite a good impression of Draco panting. 'Really Malfoy, have you heard of silencing charms?'

'Shut up Zabini, its not my fault what or who I dream about. The point is I haven't done anything, because its just a crush. In fact it isn't even that. It's just weird hormones. Anyway I'm straight and so is he, and in case you haven't noticed Zabini, we hate each other. A stupid teenage, hormonal crush on someone who hates me. Its not like I'm gonna do anything about it. There isn't even anything do about it, because it isn't anything.' Said Draco in a rush that sounded rehearsed.

'I didn't follow that.' Said Goyle. Nott shrugged.

'He thinks he's straight and doesn't have a crush on Potter, and he's not going to do anything about his non-existant crush, because its impossible to do something about something that isn't there. And he thinks he hates Potter.'

'I didn't follow that either.' Said Crabbe.

'Lies, all lies!' exclaimed Blaise. 'We all know that Draco is so g-'

'Shut up Zabini.' Said Draco.

'No. Why don't you want to get him? I would. I think today was the first time Potter really noticed me. I'm always in your shadow Draco you bastard, but this time I really think he noticed me. Who knows, maybe next time he's up here he'll be on my bed not Drakes?'

'Don't call me that Blaise; I'm not a duck.' Said Draco primly.

'Shut up Zabini, you're so perverted.' Said Nott easily. Blaise through a pillow at Theodore, who caught it and added it to his bed.

'Just because you're straight as a board Nott doesn't mean I have to be. And Potter's hot, you have to agree.'

'Hotter than me?' asked Draco with a pout.

'He is quite good looking.' Said Goyle. 'I think Finnegans better though.'

'You are kidding right Greg? When could Finnegan ever be preferred to Potter? Maybe if you just want a quickie behind the back of the broom shed, but come on now, have you seen Potter's arse? God knows I spend every moment I can looking at it.'

'SHUT UP ZABINI!!' said Crabbe and Nott together.

'And stop fancying Draco's crush.' Added Goyle.

'He is not my crush!' said Malfoy. 'Stop offending my delicate ears!'

'Sorry Draco, we forgot about your innocent, virginal ears.' Said Blaise. 'But honestly, if you could who here wouldn't shag Potter? Or at least kiss him?'

'Um, me.' Said Crabbe. 'Am I the only straight one in here?'

'No, I'm definitely straight, Vince, don't worry.'

'And me.' Said Draco.

'Don't kid yourself Drake.' Said Goyle.

'I am not a duck.' Draco pointed out irritably.

'We don't care, do you even know how long you take to do your hair? A good 50 mins, every bleeding morning, then a 20 minute touch up before lunch and dinner! And you think you're straight?' said Nott. 'Not a chance mate.'

'Anyway, I'm bi.' Said Zabini, proudly, as if he got a prize or something.

'We noticed, Blaise.' Said Crabbe. 'What with you shagging anything that moves in your direction. Its amazing more people don't know you're name with the number of people you've had.'

'And everyone knows Draco, and he's a virgin.' Said Nott.

'Well of course he's a virgin if he still thinks he's straight.' Added Goyle.

'I am here you know, and very tramuatised I might add.' Said Draco.

'Hey, you know something I just realised?' said Nott suddenly. 'Potter never told us why he was here in the first place.'

'Oh yeah.' Said Crabbe.

'And he didn't lose any points! At all.' Said Goyle, slightly dissapointed.

'Oh well, he's got a great arse.' Said Blaise.

'SHUT UP ZABINI!!' four voices roared. Blaise only smirked.

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