A/N: Here we go, we're getting there. Poor lil' Harry! Did we guess who his 'rescuers' were going to be? ;) Hope everyone's still enjoying!
Underestimated
Rivalries
The blackness ebbed and Harry's brain soaked in voices that sounded very distant. He didn't open his eyes – they felt too heavy.
The dark-haired boy let out a small moan as the aches returned slowly to his limbs. At least he still had limbs.
The comforting hand that had been resting on his forehead was removed, and Harry only realised it had been there once it had gone. He felt a little panic slinking into his body as he lay wondering where he was…
It didn't feel like the hospital wing. Usually the stark whiteness of the room made itself known before he even opened his eyes. This time it felt darker… More enclosed. The clinical echo wasn't there, and he could swear there was a fire somewhere crackling away.
One way to find out.
Harry opened his eyes slowly, and strained to focus on something.
"Welcome back, Potter."
Oh nooooooo.
Harry closed his eyes again in a grimace, not wanting to view the face that would confirm the owner of the voice.
"At least now you're back with us you can drink this properly, sit up."
Harry didn't sit up and instead lay with his eyes closed, still trying to work out his surroundings. There were cushions under his head – nice big soft ones, and he was sure there was a heavy blanket keeping him warm.
"Potter…"
The voice was getting more annoyed. The blanket was a bit itchy actually…
"I don't have time for this Potter. If you don't sit up now, I will make you sit up."
Harry opened his eyes again to see if the potions master was being serious with his threat. The man's heavy scowl and tired face seemed to suggest that he was.
Harry pulled himself painfully into a sitting position, making the most of the heavy pillows for comfort. Now that he was above the blanket he realised that he was wearing an open shirt. There was a bandage wrapped around most of his chest – Harry poked at it gingerly.
"You took quite a kicking."
Green eyes searched for the owner of this new voice. A dark fuzz was visible in the background of the dark room.
Snape handed Harry his glasses and the image of Malfoy came into focus. The blond was sitting on the arm of a chair next to the fire, looking at Harry with a grin.
"You should have been more careful." Snape muttered, handing Harry the potion.
The black-haired boy swallowed it with a grimace as the pale blue liquid burned its way down his throat,
"You let me out of detention at three in the morning! How was I supposed to know those gorillas would be skulking around?"
"You could have just ignored them, like Draco managed to do." Snape informed him with a raised eyebrow.
Harry looked at the blond who just shrugged in response. He wasn't about to tell these two that he'd walked into one of the attackers in the dark.
"Yeah Potter, they didn't give me any stick, why did they have a go at you?" Malfoy looked genuinely curious.
"I'm the Boy-Who-Lived," Harry said bitterly, "Gryffindor's golden boy. Why else?"
Malfoy looked at him in surprise. Perhaps he had expected these titles to be said with pride. Snape however, narrowed his eyes.
"Really?" He asked quietly.
Harry didn't even bother fighting the man's probing gaze and instead directed his eyes to the ceiling in a very deliberate manner.
A heavy silence draped itself over the room, and after a minute Harry looked back down to where the other two were watching him. He sat quietly for a few seconds, knowing exactly what they were trying to do, before he started fidgeting and eventually gave in.
"Maybe I asked them what they were doing…" He said with a wince, knowing full well how stupid it sounded.
Malfoy snorted and Snape just shook his head and started cleaning up some of his empty potions bottles.
"That's his way of telling you – I told you so." Malfoy said, nodding in Snape's direction with a smile.
Harry didn't think he'd ever seen Malfoy smile genuinely. It seemed that the blond had the capacity to do so after all. He snapped back to the present, and felt a little swoop of annoyance at the blond's words.
"Told me what?"
"To be more careful, Potter," Snape said tiredly, "I warned you to watch what you said. You've barely lasted a day – it's just as well Draco found you when he did."
Harry looked back at the boy on the armchair as he slipped gracefully off the arm and into the centre of the seat, proudly splaying himself over the chair.
"You're gratitude is appreciated, Potter." He drawled from his position.
Harry didn't reply and just mumbled something incoherent.
"When you two are quite finished," Snape growled ominously, "I would like to get some sleep tonight."
The man stood in the shadows, storing away bottles and Harry watched him in silence for a while trying to discover all the sorest points on his body without having to move.
Malfoy stretched loudly and wandered over to where Harry was lying. He slid down and sat on the floor next to him, examining his nails.
Both seemed to have ignored Snape's request to leave him alone.
"Where are we?" Harry asked, finally realising that he didn't recognise the room at all.
It was very cosy, with a lot of books scattered about the place.
"Somewhere you will never return to again, Potter." Snape told him, warning evident in his voice.
Harry looked at Malfoy for help.
"Snape's private quarters," The blond told him with a small smile, before whispering loudly, "He's a very private person."
You don't say, Harry thought to himself. His eyes met Snape's and they were clearly thinking back to a certain incident that neither of them were about to mention again.
"Why am I here? Why not the hospital wing?" Harry asked carefully.
"We don't tend to frequent the hospital wing that often really…" Malfoy told him with a frown, "It's too public a place. And besides, I'm sure you wouldn't have wanted the whole school knowing what happened."
Harry decided this was true. How considerate of them.
"Well, I don't know how long you're going to keep that a secret." Snape sneered from his new position on the armchair Malfoy had vacated.
Harry winced and touched his face gently. Malfoy's mirror charm came into play again, an Harry saw a nice dark bruise taking shape across one cheekbone.
"I suppose I've had worse…" He said, trying to reassure himself quietly.
"Oh, on one of your daring escapades no doubt." Malfoy said, rolling his eyes.
Snape smirked.
"Well… yeah," Harry replied bluntly, "But I never expected to end up like this just because I asked a question. Shouldn't the corridors of the school be relatively… free from peril?"
Malfoy and Snape shared a glance before the blond replied,
"Don't be so naïve, Potter. If you're going to go around asking seventh year Slytherin's what they're doing in the dark, on your own, in the dungeons then you're just asking for trouble. The school is as safe as you make it."
Harry looked at the blue-eyed wizard next to him in surprise. He'd never heard Malfoy say anything that made that much sense before.
"Like I warned you before, Potter, this isn't Gryffindor anymore," Snape said quietly, "In many ways it's good that you're in Slytherin because it's going to prepare you for the real world a lot better than the other houses would."
"Because the head of house doesn't do anything when his students get beaten up?" Harry asked with a flare of anger.
Snape narrowed his eyes angrily, but Malfoy replied before he did.
"Maybe because the head of house expects his students to have more sense than most, Potter. Which, it would seem, you do not."
Harry scowled, and crossed his arms before remembering his sore chest and promptly uncrossing them.
"No matter," Snape smirked, "If you carry on like this, then you're going to learn the hard way. Not everyone in the world likes you, Potter."
"You don't say." Harry replied shortly, eyeing up the two people who had made this fact very real to him since he'd come to Hogwarts.
Malfoy laughed, apparently understanding Harry's last remark.
"Come on, out," Snape told them firmly as he stood up, "Don't do anything overly strenuous for the next few days Potter."
Harry noticed that Snape looked quite uncomfortable with having to give him advice in an almost pleasant manner.
"Alright." Harry said making for the door.
Snape stopped short and glared at him.
"Alright, sir." Harry quickly added, not wanting to push his luck.
He was quite surprised that Snape had done anything at all to help him, never mind personally fixing him up in his private quarters. It had turned into quite a confusing evening.
Malfoy had a last few words with Snape after Harry had made it through the door and back into the corridor. In this short time Harry was able to work out whereabouts in the castle he was.
"-and I don't care how tired you are, you're not missing any classes tomorrow."
The two made their way out of the room, Snape seeing Malfoy out.
"No sir." The blond yawned.
"And, Potter, if you tell anyone where I sleep I'll make sure that you don't wake up the next day, understand?"
Harry nodded slowly. Was he being serious? Perhaps Harry ought not to drink too many liquids in Snape's presence.
With that, he shut the door in their faces and the two boys made their way tiredly up the corridor and back to the common rooms for the night. Malfoy made general conversation and Harry had to admit, he was acting quite amiable. Maybe it was the beating that he had just received, but Malfoy seemed rather pleasant and Harry was starting to soften up to him. How long would that last though, he thought to himself with a grin.
The next morning Malfoy actually woke him up in time for breakfast, but they were both exhausted having had only two hours sleep the night before. Suffice to say Harry didn't really care how people were looking at him in the Great Hall as they ate their bacon rolls together.
It was only when they were walking to class that a voice stopped them in their tracks.
"Harry!"
He had turned in a second, and was met by Hermione's happy smile.
How could anyone be so happy in the morning?
"What happened to you?" She asked, smile faltering as she saw his bruise.
Harry shared a glance with Malfoy.
"Um… walked into a door?" He said faintly.
She looked at him, unimpressed by his obvious lie.
"Harry?" Came another voice from behind her.
"Ron!" Harry said, startled.
His emotions were mixed and he waited anxiously for the redhead to say something.
"What happened to you?" Ron asked suspiciously, eyeing up Malfoy who was hovering nearby.
That's not quite what he had hoped Ron would say, but at least he was talking to him.
"I got in a fight." Harry admitted.
Hermione looked very sympathetic, whereas Ron immediately pulled out his wand still looking towards Malfoy.
"Ron," The brown haired girl hissed, "Don't."
"It wasn't him," Harry told them quickly before directing his speech to the other Slytherin, "You wouldn't hit me, would you dear?"
Malfoy scowled as he came over.
"If you keep calling me that, I wouldn't be so sure."
Ron looked a bit confused at the reasonable exchange that had just occurred between the two 'enemies' and Harry spoke to his best friend once again, trying to keep him talking.
"So, missing me?" He said with a grin.
Ron looked at him with a genuine smile, "Yeah. It's pretty weird with you gone. Everyone's finding it hard to believe the Boy-Who-Lived is a Slytherin."
"And what's wrong with being a Slytherin?" Malfoy snapped shortly.
"Would you like a list, Malfoy?" Ron snarled right back.
"Hey," Hermione said sharply, "Stop it, Harry's in Slytherin now Ron – you can't say it's all bad."
Ron didn't look convinced and held up his staring match with Malfoy.
"If it's so great, how come Harry got beaten up?" Ron asked loudly.
Harry winced as several people passing turned at hearing this. It would no doubt be through the school by lunchtime.
"Because Harry's still an innocent Gryffindor who can't look after himself in the real world." Malfoy shot right back at him, pulling out his own wand smoothly.
Hey now, Harry thought, I'm not that bad. He knew that the dig was at Gryffindor rather than himself though, but found that it didn't rile him as much as it may have done yesterday.
These words had apparently offended Ron's pride of his own house though and he stepped forward, yelling now,
"It's little wonder everyone hates Slytherins – you're all a bunch of thugs and morons, you'll all end up as Death Eaters when the rest of us earn proper jobs rather than bullying our way into work!"
"Proper jobs like your father's, Weasley? Don't make me laugh!"
"Better than your father's Malfoy! How is Azkaban these days?"
By now Hermione was pushing Ron down the corridor with the help of Ginny who had noticed the commotion, and Harry was restraining Malfoy from sending curses everywhere.
Harry pulled him through the crowds into a quiet corridor where he could calm the fuming blond down.
"How dare he!" Malfoy snarled, pulling himself free of Harry's grip and pacing the corridor angrily, "How can he say- oh forget it – you weren't much help, Potter!"
"I'm not going to help you attack Ron, Malfoy. Then again, I'm not going to help him attack you, so calm down."
Malfoy stopped and ran a hand through his hair.
"You alright?" Harry asked him carefully.
"Fine," Malfoy sighed, "I just…"
The blond looked uncomfortable.
"You just what?" Harry asked quietly.
"Just… my father, and all the Death Eater stuff… it just… I don't like it when he… when anyone…" Malfoy decided he couldn't find the right words.
Harry wasn't sure what to say and instead handed the blond his bag that had been dropped earlier. Perhaps the Slytherin had feelings after all.
"Don't worry about it," Harry said quietly, "Prejudices are hard to shake off… I know that, but this – this whole Slytherin/Gryffindor, you're all Death Eaters-we're all saints thing, it'll die down. I'm sure it will."
"Yeah, I suppose." Malfoy said with a sigh.
However, Harry wondered uneasily how true this was. He had a bad feeling that some would take recent events to heart and maybe, he thought with a sinking feeling, his 'exchange' had only intensified the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Only time would tell, he thought, making his way to class with Malfoy. But if it came to it, he wouldn't be fighting on either side, Harry decided.
That would make a nice change.
Hurray! Another chapter done and dusted! A few more to go though so hope you're still enjoying. Thought it was kinda cute how Snape and Malfoy looked after Harry. :) Finally got Ron into the story, was it too brash to have an argument?… that's what they do though right? Those two just have to argue:) Be back soon guys! Reviews are all welcome! x x x