The next few days continued in the same manner. He spent most of his time either in his room or in the garden. Snape hadn’t given him anymore chores to do so he just continued with sorting out the garden. When he wasn’t in the yard he spent most of his time reading in his room. He didn’t really have much contact with the other occupants of the house, but it didn’t bother him much. He was actually pleasantly surprised of how comfortable he was here. He had a whole bedroom to himself, and even though it was an unpersonal guest room it was more than he could ever have hoped for. He was fed regularly, usually a few times a day. If Snape had made food at mealtimes it was always a seat and a plate for him. Snape never bothered to call for him if they were eating though, but Harry really wasn’t bothered by this, he got much more than his usual summers anyway. There were always dinner, but sometimes, usually when Snape was in his lab, there weren’t any breakfast or lunch. He had seen Draco making himself a sandwich or something similar at this occasions, but didn’t know if he himself was allowed. But again, this didn’t really bother him either, he wasn’t used to eating that much, and skipping a meal or two wouldn’t make much difference to him.
Yet the best of all was that he didn’t really have much to do with either Snape or Malfoy. They mostly left him alone, probably pretending he wasn’t even there, and nothing could have suited Harry better than this. It might have been a bit lonely after awhile had it not been for his newfound friends, but at the moment he was actually quite content with the way things had turned out.


Due to the lack of communication with Snape, it was really easy to get out to meet his new friends. It didn’t seem Snape actually cared where he was, or maybe he just didn’t know, either way was perfectly fine with him. He had been out with Alex, Mal and Ace every day since that first night, and they had all started to become very good friends. It felt like they had known each other a lot longer than a short week. They had played PlayStation, football, hung around in the park, walked around the neighborhood, looked at girls, played harmless tricks on the neighbors and much more. There were always something fun going on while hanging out with them, and Harry loved it.

Last night Mal had said that his parents were going away for the weekend and that his brother was coming to town to visit, he was going to throw a late party for his thirteenth birthday. Well that was to say, his brother was having a party, and since Mal had turned thirteen he was allowed to come and bring his friends. They were all pretty excited by this. Mal’s brother were four years older, and this was going to be a real party, with alcohol and teenagers and loud music. They all were a bit nervous about it though, they knew they were a bit too young to be drinking alcohol, but who could turn down an opportunity like this? It would just be too exciting to even consider not going.

_____


That night Harry got a real surprise when meeting up with the guys outside. As he walked out the front gate and greeted his friends a voice called him from behind.

"Potter!"

For some reason Malfoy were jogging up behind him calling out for him. Harry really did not want Malfoy to ruin this night for him. He just stood there dumbfounded.

"Shortie, who is this guy?" Alex asked when he made no move to answer the blonde. Harry was dragged out from his own revery.


"Uhm, this is Malfoy…"


"Is it that bullying git from your school?" Ace asked while taking a step towards Malfoy. This actually made Malfoy look a bit uncertain, and he took a few steps back.

"Yeah it is… What do you want Malfoy?" He asked in a cold tone. He could visibly see that Malfoy forced himself to continue his superior and arrogant behavior.

"I want to talk to you in private Potter" he said, throwing a dirty look at Ace.

"Don’t think so you pompous prat" Ace said while stepping in front of him.

Draco threw him a dirty look.

"Go to hell, I’m not talking to you"

"Where did you think I came from?" Ace continued with a malicious grin at his face.

"Oh I just love the sound of you shutting up, it’s like music to my ears" Mal commented with a mocking grin.

"It’s okay guys, I’ll talk to him" Harry couldn’t help but let out a muffled snigger at the insults though.

Harry walked a few meters away from the group with Malfoy at his heels.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry said impatiently.

"I want to come with you guys to this party tonight." It was obvious that he felt a lot more comfortable now.

This statement actually surprised Harry a bit, he shouldn’t even know about the party, let alone want to go with him and a group of muggles.

"And why the hell, Malfoy, would you even want to go to a party with me and a group of muggles?"

"That is none of your business" Malfoy’s arrogance really got on his nerves, he couldn’t just demand to come with them. He still could not fathom why he even would want to, but apparently he did.

"And what would your little pureblood pals say about you hanging out with filthy muggles?" Harry said sarcastically.

"They won’t find out, will they?" Malfoy retorted with a scoff.

"And what is to stop me from telling them, even if I said yes. Moreover why the heck should I let you come along with MY friends, you haven’t exactly been a saint Malfoy" he finished sarcastically. Harry raised his eyebrows and looked at Malfoy challengingly.

"Well, you wouldn’t like what I could tell them would you?" Malfoy said with a sadistic smile. "What do you think your newfound friends will think of you wetting yourself like a little baby? And what about the whole school, wouldn’t that just be a wholesome rumor to go around?"

Harry could feel his cheeks burn, he had completely forgotten about that little fiasco. He was silent for a minute before answering Malfoy.

"If I let you come along tonight, you will not mention that to anyone ever again?"

"Deal, Potty"
Harry rolled his eyes and started walking towards his friends again.

"Hey guys, is it okay if Malfoy here comes along with us tonight?" He forced out in a strained voice.

"Harry, why do you want this bullying jerk to come with us?" Alex asked confused.

"Let’s just say it’s a lot better for me if he gets to joins us. He won’t cause any trouble, won’t you Malfoy?" He said pointedly.

"Wouldn’t dream of it" Malfoy answered sarcastically, but a bit nicer than normally.

They all looked rather skeptical at him, but at last they gave in.

"I guess, if you say so" Mal answered with a shrug and gave Harry a look .

"Mark my words blondie, if you cause any trouble you wont like the outcome." Alex said in a low voice. With that they all started walking in the direction of Mal’s house.
_____

They had been walking a couple of minutes in silence when Harry raised his question.

"One thing I don’t understand though, how did you even know about the party Malfoy?"

They all turned to look at him, then at Malfoy. An unspoken curiosity and apprehension hung in the air.

"I heard you guys talking yesterday, I noticed you walking out of the gate yesterday and wondered where you were going." Surprisingly enough Malfoy didn’t have any venom in his voice, he looked rather embarrassed about his confession.

"So you followed us all evening?" Ace asked with raised eyebrows.

"No of course not, I was just nearby when I overheard you mentioning it. I went home right after" Harry was perplexed to see Malfoy’s cheeks had gotten a pink tinge to it.

"But why do you even want to come? I thought you didn’t like Harry at all?" Mal added .

"Well, it gets rather monotonous being stuck inside Snape’s house with just him for company. Most of the time he spends in his potion lab anyways, so it’s not like anything is happening there." He shrugged.
Harry threw Malfoy a warning look.

"What do you mean his potion lab?" Alex asked confused.

Draco seemed to understand his mistake and was at a loss for words. He looked helplessly at Harry, and Harry thought he appeared very misplaced. This did not seem to be the Draco he knew from school at all. When he came to think of it he had been acting out of character all summer. He had been a whole lot less arrogant, and had a lot less snide remarks. All things considered he had been acting a great deal nicer than usual.
He shook his head to get rid of the stream of thought inside it.

"You see Snape is our chemistry teacher, he has a lab in the basement where he works on his projects. Don’t really know what he’s doing tho, the potion thing is just a kind of joke at our school" Harry lied easily.

"Ohh, I see. I actually do feel a bit for you Malfoy. Couldn’t imagine what I would do if I was stuck with that guy for weeks." Alex said with a shudder.

"Yeahh, still not an excuse for being an opulent, arrogant jerk at school though." Ace commented with a semi-cold look.

"I know.." Malfoy seemed to be debating if he should say anymore, but seemed to decide against it.

They didn’t have anymore time to discuss Malfoy’s weird behavior anyway because they had reached their destination.

The music where playing loudly, the bass was turned up to full volume and they could feel the stairs beneath their feet shake. The all looked at each other with excitement one last time before Mal turned the handle and they all walked in.
_____

A couple of hours later they were all black out drunk and having the time of their life. Mal’s brother Blake were actually a really nice guy. He and his friends had been a fun gang to hang around with. They had all treated them like a part of the gang, and they had already played several drinking games. Some of them card games, others not. So far they had played Ring of Fire, which was a card game where a ring of cards where placed around a can of beer. Every number meant a different thing, for example the jack meant that you had to make a rule, and the four meant that every boy in the room had to take a sip. After you drew a card you had to place it under to can opener of the beer. The one that popped the beer with their card had to chug the whole beer. Harry had gotten it one time, Draco once, and Mal two times. After that they had played Never Have I Ever, and they had gotten to know each other a lot better. It turned out that Alex and Ace especially had been in a lot of entertaining situations, they all had a really good time with it, the older teenagers seemed to enjoy it just as much as they did. At last they had arranged a beer pong tournament, which Harry actually won. It turned out he was great at beer pong, even when he was overly intoxicated with alcohol.

Some guys were still playing beer pong, some were dancing, others were sitting and talking to each other. Harry, Malfoy, Alex, Ace and Mal were talking to Blake and his friend Cody.

"I have something you guys have to try" Blake said to them with a smile. "Come on, this way"

They were all chatting while walking to the upstairs balcony. At the balcony there were some outdoors furniture and a heat lamp. At the table stood a big bong. They all quieted down and looked at Blake.

"Well then, sit down. It is time you guys were integrated into our culture."

Harry looked uncertainty at Mal who dragged him towards the sofa.


"Oh come on shortie it’s not dangerous, I’ve already tried it a few times, your gonna love it" Mal encouraged a bit drunkenly.

Harry in his unfocused mindset gave in and sat down. On the other side of him sat Malfoy, while Alex and Ace sat in the sofa right beside them. Cody got the bong going, gave it a few puffs and handed it to Blake. After Blake took a few drags he handed it towards Harry.

"Your turn shortie, just take a few puffs. Try to breath it in and hold it there a few seconds"

Harry took it with a grin and did as he was told. He could feel the smoke burning his throat but refused to give in to the coughs that tried to take over.

"You really have a talent for this shortie, most people can’t hold the smoke down on their first tries" Cody praised him. Harry smiled at him between the coughs that now ravaged his body. The bong was passed around some rounds while they were chatting. Harry had actually talked a bit to Malfoy during the evening. Malfoy genuinely seemed to be getting better along with the rest of them too.

"Soo Malfoy, why did you actually want to come to this party?" Harry slurred in Malfoy’s direction.

"You know I didn’t lie before, it’s just like I said, I wanted some fun and company for a change" Malfoy said, slurring just as much as he did.

"But like whyyy, I thought you hated.." Harry whisper the next words ".. you know.. muggles"

"yeah, but no if you unnerstand" Malfoy swayed a bit in his seat but managed to remain the eye contact.

"Uhh.. no I don’t think I do" He said bewildered.

"I have never actually been around them, but my whole family hates them so I kinda do. But I don’t have anything against them myself but kinda have to? Does that make sense?"

For a moment Malfoy looked perplexed by his own sentence.

"I think it might do?" Harry answered just as confused.

"But why are you so jerky at school and so much… uhm.. less.. Now?"

"Eh.. I don’t actually know" Malfoy said while scratching his neck. "I guess it just became that way, you know I kinda have to don’t like you, but I guess I kinda don’t. Huh, I’m kinda confused"

"Yeah me to" Harry said befuddled.

"Harry! Do you see that?" Ace called out to him while pointing up at the night sky.

"What?" Harry said looking at where Ace was pointing.

"The sky! The clouds are sinking down towards us. How do you think it feels to touch one" Ace had completely spaced out, he sat there opening and closing his hands like he was trying to touch something.
Harry looked at Cody who chuckled and handed him the bong.

"Come on shortie, take a few more puffs. This time try to breath them in and hold them for 10 seconds, take five or so."

Once again Harry did as suggested, it burned but he forced himself to hold it in, making the smoke go all the way to his lungs and be absorbed by his veins. After he was done he handed the bong to Malfoy and leaned back in his chair.

"Can you feel it shortie?" Cody grinned at him.

And Harry did feel it, it was hitting him hard now.

"Yeaaahhh" he sighed in response.

He could see the world starting to spin around him, but he was still calm. Now he understood what Ace meant too, the clouds were coming down towards him, the more he looked the closer they came until they were close enough to touch. He reached out his hand and patted the nearest one, it was light pink and fluffy, it felt like stroking a soft kitty, but it was as squishy as a foam ball. Every time he pressed on it it slowly bounced back up.
Suddenly someone took him by the arm and dragged him up from the sofa.

"Come on Harry!" Ace laughed while dragging him towards the upstairs bathroom, Mal were walking just in front of them. When inside Harry caught Ace’s gace and they both burst out laughing, Mal looked at them both before he too burst out in uncontrollable laughter. Harry had never laughed so hard in his life but he was physically unable to stop. Everything was extremely funny, and he had a bunch of new sensations he never before had felt.

"Isn’t it weird how the world works?" Mal asked.

"What do you mean?" Harry laughed drunkenly, his sentence almost impossible to decipher.

"Like if we pop bubble wrap made in china, is the air that comes out china air?" Mal continued awestruck. He looked at Harry in a way that suggested he had just said something mind blowing.
Harry stared transfixed, he had never thought of it like that before.

"Or crab walks sideways right, but do thuy think thatis us that is walkimg sidewasy?" Ace stuttered, it was almost impossible to discern due to his snuffling.

They were all comprehending this revelation when the door opened behind them. In the door opening stood Blake.

"Come on guys, there is snacks on the table, better hurry before it’s all gone."

With this they all forgot what they were doing and hurried along.
_____

The clock was nearing 3am, and the party had calmed down. Nearly everyone had gone home, but Blake, Cody, Ace, Mal, Alex, Malfoy and him were still there. All of them was considerably calmer though. Blake and Mal had fallen asleep in the couch upstairs, Alex in the chair next to them. Ace, Malfoy, him and Cody sat downstairs.

All of them were completely out of it, Harry was blacked out, deep down in his own world. Malfoy was asleep beside him. Cody and Ace was in the other couch, both completely gone.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. No one responded. There was another knock at the door, louder this time. Malfoy stirred, and opened his eyes slowly. At the third and loudest knock so far he got up slowly and stags towards the door. In the doorway stood Snape.

"Uncle Sev..?" He managed to stutter, completely dumbfounded.