The entrance door to the dungeon shut behind Harry with a spooky creaking that did nothing to settle the teen’s mind. Being in the dungeons at night was like going through a fun house without the fun. You never knew what to expect, and it left Harry feeling extremely apprehensive.

Harry did not realize that he had been dragging along the corridor until Snape mentioned it in the delightful way he has. “Hurry up, Potter!” the professor snapped, glancing at Harry with a sneer and a shake of his greasy head.

Harry bit his lip and ran to catch up with the two irritable Slytherins. The labyrinthine passages were deserted and their steps echoed eerily off the drab stone walls. Harry could only faintly remember the way to the Slytherin common room from his escapade in second year with Ron. But when Malfoy turned into a unfamiliar corridor, Harry was sure that the common room was still a ways down the corridor.

“Isn’t the entrance back there somewhere?” he asked without thinking. Malfoy stopped in surprise and turned slowly to stare at Harry with a calculating expression.

 Crap, Harry thought, and he gazed at the two Slytherins innocently as possible.

Snape watched him without expression before turning to walk pass the still-staring Malfoy. Harry walked after him and Malfoy followed, shooting him a suspicious glance as he caught up. There was a painting of a tall, intelligent-looking man that opened when Snape waved his wand over it. The man was wearing a coat of arms on his sage green robes; they were intertwined snakes forming the letter S. Harry realized with a jolt that the man in the portrait was Salazar Slytherin himself.

Harry had never seen a picture of the man before and he could not help thinking that he did not look like he expected. He expected the Slytherin founder to be like Malfoy Senior, if not by looks then by attitude. The mans painting took Harry by surprise; Salazar looked regal, but almost sad as he stared out a window from his library with a book in hand. He had bronze hair and clear blue eyes, and his library was dark and gloomy. The picture seemed so real and stunned him so much that at first, Harry did not even notice that it was still.

“Potter!”

Snape’s annoyed tone drew Harry from his thoughts. With a final glance, he followed the professor into the hallway behind the portrait. It was twisty, dark, and barely lit by the professor’s wand as he led the way around sharp corners. They turned a corner and Malfoy pulled open a door half-hidden in the darkness. The door opened up to a hall that Harry did recognized. The damp dark walls were the same ones that hid the Slytherin entrance, they had just taken the long way around to it.

Paranoid Slytherins, Harry thought as Snape spoke the password quietly and the wall slid open to reveal the common room.

Though the room was now full of students, it was almost exactly like Harry remembered it. The room had a low ceiling with green lights hanging from chains, a marble fireplace and rough stone walls. Slytherins of all ages stood around talking, doing homework, or playing chess. It was almost like looking into the Gryffindor common room without the red and gold. The faces were not as cheery, either…but that was probably because they had caught sight of Harry. They stared at him with ranging expression, from cold glares sent by the older students to the curious ones of the younger students.

Harry fought the urge to hide behind his professor’s cloak. Instead he stood and looked around the room, making a point to occasionally make eye contact, especially with the older, more dangerous students. He was taken back when some looked away. Whether it was from intimidation or shyness, Harry did not know.

Snape seemed to draw the attention of the entire house; they did not need to be told to quiet down. Unlike the rest of the school, the Slytherins seemed to look at Snape with respect instead of fear or hatred.

Professor Snape came to stand in the Slytherins view with Draco passing him to go over to his friends. Harry did not know what to do, so he just stood slightly behind Snape and waited.

“Thanks to Mr. Malfoy’s and Potter’s foolishness, Slytherin house will be hosting Potter every other night for an undetermined period. Mr. Malfoy will be doing the same at the Gryffindor house,” Snape said with undisguised dislike at the idea.

The Slytherins at once began talking between themselves while shooting looks at Harry.

“Potter will stay in the fifth year boy’s dormitory with Mr. Malfoy,” Snape added silkily as he turned to leave. His coal black eyes met Harry’s and Snape smirked at him with malevolence. “Don’t kill him,” he said to his students right before the entrance slid closed behind him.

With the knowledge that he was alone, Harry turned to face his new housemates. Their faces were not reassuring to him but he walked forward anyway. He was a Gryffindor, and besides, it was not his fault he was here in the first place. Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall had made the decision to throw him to the snakes. Harry prepared himself mentally and physically before asking, “Which way’s my dormitory?” His tone was polite his face straight and unconcerned but his hand was itching to hold his wand. The piece of wood gave him reassurance that most people never could.

The Slytherins reacted to his question but, it was not what Harry had hoped for. “What do you mean your dormitory?” a pout-faced boy sneered at him.

“You’re the one intruding on our territory, Potter,” Malfoy said easily, looking pleased as he picked at his nails. Harry clenched his teeth, Don’t kill him, he told himself as he tried to find a response.

“I know that, Malfoy, and I certainly didn’t ask to be here,” Harry said carefully as he shifted his stance.

Malfoy sniffed and stood up to casually walk to a doorway and Harry fought back the urge to roll his eyes. Harry followed Malfoy on the uncarpeted stone through the small path the Slytherins made.

They were still looking at him like they found him utterly repulsive. He made his way through them, being careful not to hit anyone while still staying close enough to Malfoy so that the bond did not react.

There was a draft in the hallway that the doorway turned into. It sent chills up Harry’s arms and caused goose bumps to rise on his clothed arms.

The hallway was dimly lit by small lamps and lined with dark wooden doors every few feet. It was hard to see with the sparse lighting. “Is it always this dark in here?” he asked.

Malfoy sighed and Harry knew that there was a sneer on his face without seeing it.

Harry was not sure what Malfoy did next but the lights got much brighter and lit the hall, chasing away shadows with its appearance.

The sound of footsteps made Harry glance behind him to see a few teens his age following him. Harry recognized Crabbe, Goyle, and another person he had seen hanging around Malfoy, but he did not know his name.

Malfoy opened a door near the end of the hall and entered without looking around. Harry’s first impression of the room was how different it was from his dormitory in Gryffindor tower. There were five beds but the room seemed larger and was much cleaner than Harry’s, which that added to the size of the room. The colors were, of course, mainly green but Harry noticed there were different shades throughout the house. The hallway had been painted in a light green that was almost white and this room was sage.

The rest of the room, though, was different from what Harry had expected. On one wall a poster of a Quidditch team hung with a few other posters clustered around it. There were a few books lying around but all the beds were made, it was immaculate. Harry hated it already. He could tell which bed was his by his scratched up trunk that was haphazardly lying crooked at the end of an unmade bed. The bed was smaller, Harry noticed, as he walked over to it.

“Hope you don’t wet the bed Potter,” Malfoy said as he watched his new roommate study the place.

“I’ll leave that to you, Malfoy,” Harry muttered as he sat on the bed and took of his cloak off. There were six Slytherins in the room and Harry ignored all of them as he tossed his cloak onto a small bedside table and started to make his bed.

“There’s a spell for that you know,” Goyle said as he came closer to Harry.

Harry did know, although it did not matter to him, and he nodded at Goyle without pausing. After quickly setting his bed in order, Harry turned away from it with a satisfied expression to check out his chest.

Malfoy, Zabini and the others were scrutinizing him from different spots around the room. The bed with the posters seemed to belong to Goyle who was sitting on his bed staring into space.

“What are you wearing,” Malfoy said and his eyes narrowed as he studied Harry’s attire. Harry looked down with a frown, his shirt was a bit worn--a lot worn, actually--and his jeans had hole in the knee.

“I’ll have you know that these are authentic tattered garments,” Harry said with a proud air and a sniff that matched Malfoys from earlier. “They came all the way from the gutters of Venice.”

Malfoy watched him without blinking and Harry knew that his light-heartedness was lost on him. But a low chuckle made Harry glance around. To his surprise, Nott was leaning in the doorway with half a grin on his face.

“So the Muggles treat you like crap and dress you like it, too,” he said. Harry’s hands quivered on their own accord, but none of the Slytherins noticed as they waited for a reaction.

“They’re not that bad,” Harry mumbled as he looked around the room for something to destarct him. Why am I defending the Dursleys? he wondered in helpless confusion. They certainly did not deserve his protection, so why was he giving it? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, Harry thought. But he was not fooling himself. The Dursleys would never defend him and he knew it.

Harry did not have anymore time to study his mental state as Zabini spoke. “You’re more of an idiot then I thought you were, Potter,” he said, “and that’s saying a lot.”

“Gee thanks,” Harry said with a shake of his head as he kneeled to check out his trunk. Slytherins are so nice, he thought dryly as they spread out around the room going to there different beds. Of course, their treatment was not as bad as Harry had first expected, but he did not want to speak too soon. There would still be plenty of time for the Slytherins to prove how horrible they were and Harry had no doubt that they would. But he had no idea when or how they would prove it; he would have to stay on his toes.

He wanted to check his trunk out for curses and to see if anyone had tried to open it. I hope they haven’t already found the Marauder’s Map or worse--my Invisibility cloak, Harry thought worridly.

Most of the time he kept his trunk locked and luckily, it was locked when it was moved to his new dormitory. Harry performed a scanning spell on the wooden box and let out a contented sigh when he discovered that it had been left alone.

He opened it and was pleased to see his Invisibility Cloak, Marauder’s Map, and the book from his future self lying on top. Harry thought momentairily about movig them to the bottom but stopped himself. The Slytherins are probably watching me and if I leave the important stuff on top it will make it look unimportant. If Harry did not want any of his items stolen from him he would have to think like a Slytherin.

I’ll put some better protectioon and privacy spells on it soon, Harry thought. He only knew a few but if the Slytherins were determined enough they could easily get in and invade his private things. Harry was not going to take that chance The next time he saw Hermione he could ask her about some better spells. He could count on Hermione to know some good ones. Maybe even one that could turn the culprit green, or on second thought, red and gold.

Harry smiled at his truck as he performed the few security spells he knew. If anyone tried anything funny, they would be very, very, sorry.

Harry stood to see Malfoy watching him over the top of a history text as he sat on his bed. “What?” Harry asked rudely.

“You’re so eloquent Potter,” Malfoy drawled and went back to his textbook.

Zabini picked up a stack of cards from his bedside table, but he answered Harry’s question instead of ignoring it. “If you really have something of value in your trunk it would have been smarter to perform the protection spells when others weren’t there to see your wand movements,” he said in a dry tone.

“It wouldn’t matter if I was still in Gryffindor Tower with people who don’t want to steal from me now would it?” Harry growled at Zabini and the git smirked at him. Harry’s eyes widened at Zabini’s nerve and he turned away from him with a small huff.

He undid all the locks and spells on his trunk, took out the books he needed and then locked it back. Harry had also brought out his Occlumency texts so he could practice. Even though there were a lot of things happening, he knew that Snape would not have mercy on him. But will I still have Occlumency lessons? Harry wondered as he sat on his bed with all his books.

The thought of seeing Professor Snape astounded was enough to fuel Harry for a long study session. He climbed onto his bed and sat crossed-legged, pulling the curtains around his bed and blocking the Slytherins from sight. Harry also cast a silence spell so that he would not have to hear their chatter. Crabbe’s and Goyle’s deep-toned whispers was not helping Harry to study.

The quiet Silencio Harry muttered left him feeling happily alone, with the only sound being his own breath. He opened his Occlumency text first. It’s more important then how many trolls Grumpy the Great killed and ate at the moment, Harry thought humorously.

Harry understood the text and it was getting easier to practice the techniques the books mentioned without feeling silly. No one could see him except himself, and this was a serious mater. Actually it’s a Sirius matter, Harry thought without humor.

About an hour later, Harry had read five chapters of one Occlumency books, finished his homework and was reading the other Occlumency text. Unexpectedly, the curtains were yanked away from the bed and Malfoy stood there, looking annoyed.

He opened his mouth and spoke but Harry could not hear anything he was saying. Harry was tempted to just ignore the stuck up git but he reluctantly raised his wand and removed the spell. Malfoy stopped talking and glared at Harry. “You had a silence spell up?” he asked angrily.

“Yes,” Harry said and he heard some of the others in the room muffle their laughter. “What were you trying to tell me, Malfoy?”

“I was saying that it’s time to turn out the lights because I’m going to bed and I will not sleep without the lights off,” he said in an exasperated tone.

Harry nodded as he casually hid the title of his book putting it in his lap and crossing his arms over it. “Won’t or can’t?” Harry asked.

“Won’t,” Malfoy snarled and he blinked angrily.

Harry sat up in time to see Nott’s lips twich as he pulled on his nightshirt. Even Malfoy’as own housemates liked to see him get irritated. Harry could not wait to tell Ron and Hermione. They would get a kick out of it for sure.

Harry was surprised that Nott had almost smiled, but not only because it was at Malfoy’s expense. He had never seen the Slytherin make any response to something he did. Maybe the Slytherins were more human than they seemed…Harry could hope.

“Fine, I’ll go to bed in a second,” Harry said with only a slight grumble and Malfoy smirked from his bedside. Harry shook his head and fetched his pajamas from his trunk to change. Stripping off his shirt, he put on the nightshirt and jumped onto the bed.

Crabbe flicked his wand to turn the lights off. Harry pulled the curtains around his bed once more and turned back the duvet to climb under the covers. He wondered if he should put a protection spell around his bed after all. He still did not trust the Slytherins, but he decided not to and put another silecing spell up instead. The last thing he needed to do is wake the Slytherins up if he started sceaming from one of his visions. They would never let him forget it and the entire school would know about it within the hour.

Harry settled down in the covers and crossed his arm over his chest. He was going to try to clear his mind before going to bed. It did not take to long once he figured out how to get rid of his nerves. There were a lot of nerves after the last few days he had had.

The news that Voldemort was going to attack Hogwarts, the bond with Malfoy, sufficiently clearing his mind well enough to sleep without nightmares…most of what had happened was very stressful but finally Harry calmed his nerves and could barely keep his eyes open. He was stuck between sleep and consciousness. There was a haze that seemed to hover around his slow thoughts and he fell asleep.

……………………………….....

Unlike in Gryffindor Tower, there were no windows in the dungeons so there was no sun in Harry’s eyes when he woke up the next morning. It was a sad change made even sadder by the fact that Harry could hear Slytherins chuckling. That can’t be good, Harry thought as he lazily raised his hand to wipe his eyes.

The sounds of light laughter stopped abruptly, making Harry pause before sitting up. Something was going on and he was going to find out what. It took a few minutes for Harry’s eyes to adjust to the room after he slipped on his glasses.

Malfoy, Zabini, Crabbe and Nott were already dressed and their beds were made, but Goyle was trying to straighten his green tie. There expressions were normal and they showed no reaction to seeing Harry sit up.

But Harry knew something was up. Goyle was not that good at masking his expression and there was a hint of a smile on his face. Harry got out of bed and stretched. “What time is it?” he asked with a yawn that he could not surpress.

Crabbe told him in a grunty voice and Harry was surprised. He still had time to take a shower if he wanted to. “Why are you already getting dressed?”

“Why are you not?” Malfoy said with a sneer and he walked over to his bed with a roll of his eyes. Harry got up and got dressed. He was having trouble with his tie and wishing it was a clip on when Zabini said, “You could do that better if you used a mirror.”

For some reason that made Nott cough loudly into his hand, but Harry thought it sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “Don’t forget to brush your teeth in the bathroom,” Crabbe said with a grin. “Where else would I do it at?” Harry asked in slight exsasperation.

The Slytherins laughed as one and moved out of the room quickly leaving Harry and Malfoy behind. Harry shook his head as he got his toothbrush and toothpaste from the trunk to head of to the bathroom with Malfoy trailing behind.

The bathroom connected to the other dormitory and there were three Slytherins in the bathroom when Harry entered. He was already putting toothpaste on his toothbrush so he could get out as soon as possible. Harry never noticed the incredulous and humorous expressions on the Slytherins’ faces or the smirk that Malfoy gave them.

They were still in the bathroom when Harry reached the mirror and looked up at his face. Harry’s eyes widened first before his mouth dropped slightly in horror and disbelief as he stared.

His hair had a huge streak of bright pink running straight down the middle.

The toothbrush dropped out of his limp hand as he stared at his new hairdo. What happened! Harry though as his mind finally came out of the haze it had wandered into.

“Merlin,” he breathed and the Slytherins could not stand it anymore. They burst into laughter and cackles of glee. Harry glanced at them and snapped his mouth closed. Malfoy was leaning against the wall and laughing at the poor Gryffindor.

I look like a skunk with style, Harry thought as he glanced back at the mirror with a grimace. “When did you do this, Malfoy?” he asked.

“W-while you were sleeping,” Malfoy said wiping his eyes with a monogrammed handkerchief.

“Wonderful,” Harry muttered with a sigh but even now he thought that the situation was kind of funny. Malfoy and other Slytherins wanted to embarrass me and make me act like an idiot. But I won’t give them the satisfaction, Harry thought. It was rather funny and Harry was lucky they had not dyed all his hair pink. Suddenly Harry had an idea that came to him. I wonder if I can find that spell again, he wondered.

The Gryffindor left the Slytherins and left the bathroom to head back to his trunk, dragging Malfoy behind him.

Harry ignored the Slytherin, opened the trunk and found the book. After a few minutes of searching he found the page he needed. I’ll show them how to be a good sport, Harry thought with a grin.

………………………………......

Harry and Malfoy were headed down to the Great Hall a few minutes later. Malfoy was not aware of Harry’s little ploy. The Gryffindor had been able to do what he needed to do without the Slytherin being aware of it. So the curious and frustrated glances that Malfoy sent Harry’s way because of the Gryffindor’s small smirk were very satisfying.

Harry had not even reached the Great Hall, yet and he was already feeling better about his hairdo. It got the attention of a lot of students but Harry just smiled politely at them as they gaped and in some cases snickered.

“Where’d you get the makeover Potter?” said an unfamiliar person with the Ravenclaw crest on his robes. Harry glanced at Malfoy who was walking behind him with a smirk on his face.

He probably wants to sit back and watch as the snorts of laughter and the jeers get thrown at me, Harry thought.

He had just reached the Great Hall doors. They were firmly shut and the sounds of talking could be heard from outside. “Better go look for that so called Gryffindor bravery Potter,” Malfoy said with a laugh from right behind him.

Harry gave him a smug smirk and with a flourish removed his robes to hang them over his shoulder. Underneath he wore regular Muggle garb, a pair of jeans that fit fairly well and a t-shirt. But this t-shirt was light pink with long black sleeves. Written on the front of the shirt in bold, black letters were the words “Tough Guys Wear Pink.”

Malfoy’s expression was one Harry would remember. The Slytherin was astounded and speechless. Harry snickered and turned away from him to throw open the doors of the Great Hall and stride confidently to the Gryffindor table.

There was a surprised silence on most parts of the room, but others were already laughing or snickering. Harry could see that Ron’s mouth was open with his fork hanging in the air and Hermione looked taken aback by the change.

Today it was the Gryffindor dragging Malfoy over to the table and unlike with Harry, Malfoy had no friends in Hufflepuff to sit with. They reached the table and Harry sat down with his friends.

“Is that some kind of fashion statement?” George called with a laugh from down the table and Harry grinned at him but did not speak. Malfoy was hanging around the table trying to look bored and at ease but failing. Harry moved over.

“You can sit here,” he said to Malfoy. To Ron, who was looking at him incredulously, he said, “The one who keeps his temper and plays the better sport always turns out on top Ron.” Hermione beamed at him.

Malfoy sat down beside him and Harry handed him a plate while chewing his food. Most of the Gryffindors were glaring at Malfoy. My how the tables have turned, Harry thought.

“What did happen to you hair?” Hermione asked quietly and the others leaned in.

“It was a welcoming present,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes.

The glares got a little bit icier and Malfoy squirmed a little as he tried to eat. Harry might have felt sorry for him, but years of sneers, stinging comments, and jeers came back to him and he ignored the Slytherin.

“I like how you reacted,” Hermione said with a meaningful glance at Harry’s shirt.

“Thanks,” Harry replied. “I got the spell from one of those books you bought me.”

Ron mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like ’kiss up’ but Harry knew that the redhead was only joking. “We have Potions first this morning,” Hermione said and Harry nodded as he chewed.

“Yeah, this will be one of those few lessons where I’ll stay with you guys,” he said happily while Malfoy sulked. Ron smirked at Malfoy from across the table and Hermione ignored the look and got up.

“I’m going to head for Potions,” she said. “You coming Harry?” Hermione asked. There was something about the way she was watching him that made Harry get up.

“I’m coming,” he said. Ron told them that he’d be there soon while Malfoy grumbled about how he was not done eating.

Malfoy walked in front of Harry and Hermione with an unhappy expression on his face. Harry started walking faster to catch up with Malfoy but Hermione held him back. “What are we going to do about the DA, Harry!” she whispered to him worriedly.

Harry had already come to a conclusion for that. “The DA is still on, I just won’t be the leader anymore,” he said.

Hermione frowned. “You need to practice, as well. What if something happens and you need to protect yourself--”

Harry cut her off. “I’ll take care of myself and you take care of the DA for me, all right?”

His friend bit her lip but nodded and Harry sighed. “Thanks Hermione,” he said softly and she smiled understandingly.