Draco's P.O.V

Astoria was trailing behind me as I swaggered up to the three famous buffoons. A shocked look passed over Potters face when he saw me in my quidditch outfit and said, "Your the new seeker Slytherin has been babbling on about figures." Astoria spoke up and said in a cheerful tone, "My name is Astoria Greengrass it is a pleasure to meet you" They all looked shocked that a Slytherin was greeting them politely frankly my mind was in shock to.

Granger spoke up and said, "Your the one that professor Flitwick said was like me a true genius, it's an honor to meet a fellow academic." She extended her hand and Astoria shook it without flinching, did she not understand that she should be disgusted by the mere presence of Granger. The Weasel spoke up next and said, "Pleasure to meet a decent Slytherin, I'm Ronald Weasley but you can just call me Ron." She shook his hand as well and then Potter finally opened his mouth and said in a kind tone, "How does a pleasant person like you stand someone like Malfoy, Oh and the names Harry Potter" She shook his hand and then turned to Granger and said, "There is this charms theory I've been working on and I would like your opinion on it. Would you meet me later to discuss it?" The mud-blood simply nodded. Potter turned his attention back to me and said, "Is that a new broom, where did you get it?"

My tone was smug as I said, "My father bought the whole team brand new brooms" Astoria tensed at the mention of my father name which was odd, there was no time to dwell on it however because the mud-blood threw her two cents in and said, "It's sad when you have to buy your way onto the team everyone in Gryffindor is here because of how much talent they have. The same cannot be said for Slytherin it appears. It looks like anyone can get on the team if they have the money" There was no way someone of lower status was going to insult my skills. I took a step forward and said, "Nobody asked you. You filthy little mud-blood"

The look on her face was priceless but then Weasel steeped up to defend her honor and pulled his wand. He said "Oh you'll pay for that.Eat slugs Malfoy" His wand bounced the curse back at him though and he promptly began to throw up slugs. My laughter was interrupted when a blow moved my head to the side a stinging pain pounded in my cheek and my eyes fell on Astoria. It was unbelievable she had just slapped me and then she said, "How dare you speak to Hermione like she's lower than you either you apologize now or I'm going back to the common room."

My heart feared further physical pain so I said words that made me ill, "I'm sorry Granger it won't happen again" With that said I continued to walk to quidditch practice and Astoria followed but not before giving the three a quick hug.

We arrived at the quidditch pitch and it looked like the rest of team was late. Not that it surprised me though instead I decided to make use of the time by questioning Astoria. My tone was inquisitive as I asked, "Why do you care about muggle borns, we pureblood's are clearly above them?" She shot me a venomous look and said, "Draco why do you think pureblood's are above muggle borns?"

Was she seriously asking me this and better yet did I have an answer? My tone was unsure as I said, "They are different than us" She eyed me carefully and then said, "Your wrong, they bleed the same color as you do, they eat, sleep, drink and make friends like you do. Hermione is smarter than most pureblood's and better at magic too. So tell me again why you think muggle borns are below pureblood's". My mind began searching for a reason that could stand up to her scrutiny and found none. It was funny when I was little I used to think the reason father called people mud-bloods was because they bleed a different color but after being around Granger first year I got to see just how red her blood was and realized it was the same color as mine. A heavy feeling settled in my heart and a terrifying thought occurred. If I was faced with two people one a muggle born the other a pureblood would I be able to tell the difference.

My pride was saying yes but my conscious was saying no. Well this was bloody wonderful my belief in blood superiority had just been destroyed by a girl no bigger than a baby dragon. It was completely logical to listen to the pride side but for some reason my conscious won out. My tone was unsure as I finally answered her and said, "Honestly I don't know. My father always said it so I just assumed it to be true. There are people here who are my equal however who aren't pureblood's and now that you put it into perspective it's starting to look less like the truth and more like racist garbage." She chucked and said, "There really is no way to tell the difference but let's keep this little revelation between us, the others wouldn't take it well if they learned their prince respected muggle's." I nodded my head as the sound of feet pounding caught my attention and up strolled Marcus Flint and the rest of the team, we had our first big game against Gryffindor tomorrow, it was going to be a glorious victory for the Slytherins just you wait Potter.

The game was early in the morning, so we were allowed to wear our quidditch uniforms to breakfast. My eyes fell on the newest pain in my life Astoria, she was reading about Achromantulas and humming softly. She looked and saw me standing there and said, "You pay that much attention to your looks on a game day? You realize your hair is going to get messed up right so why bother fixing it?" I choose not to answer instead I said, "You best be ready to go down to breakfast, I'm not going to play on an empty stomach." She simply gasped and said, "Don't tell me your turning into Goyle." My eye twitched slightly she really is frustrating but she has also opened my eyes to the error in my mightier than thou complex.

While I was contemplating this she got up and dashed out the door and said, "Rematch loser gets a head start last one to the great hall is Cornish pixie." My eye twitched once again as I raced after her, it is so hard to be me.

She beat me this time, it left a sour
taste in my mouth to boot. We walked over to the table and took our seats and began to dig in, Astoria went straight for the desert and I shot her an odd look. She raised an eyebrow and said,"What life's short eat desert first" With that said she began munching on cinnamon buns and cookies. Crabb and Goyle were shoveling their faces as usual and this earned them an eye roll. Breakfast was mostly quiet there was one first year who got knocked out but that was a common occurrence. First years did not know when to stop talking and just listen it was no surprise that one got knocked out or hexed every morning. It was soon time to head to the pitch.

It was a clear and sunny day which was the best conditions possible for a game. My eyes scanned the multicolored pitch and then fell on the entrance to the Slytherin locker room this was where Astoria and I parted ways. She grabbed my broom and gave it a quick kiss and said, "That was for good luck be careful Draco." A smile graced my lips as I said, "Thanks it means a lot now you should hurry so you can get good seats." She nodded and dashed off. Flint gave the dullest pep talk ever but I suppose it's something. We took out places on the pitch while the Gryffindors eyed us like prey my focus was broken when the sound of Astoria's cheers echoed through the arena. My father was also in attendance but he was sitting there silently with a bored look on his face.

The match started and we took a couple of Gryffindors off the pitch but they were still ahead the only way to win would be too catch the snitch. My sharp eyes scanned the field and saw the little golden ball flying about, Potter spotted it as well, the game was on. We flew underneath the stadium structure and when we came out my broom flew out from beneath me and I landed on the pitch with a thud. Potter had caught the snitch but had broken his arm in the process. Then Lockhart made it worse by casting a healing charm that back fired and made Potters arm bone disappear. I was in too much pain to enjoy his misfortune however.

The medical wing was cold and the only other people here were Madam Pomfrey and Potter and his little group. There was no one sitting by me however I knew my father wasn't going to visit that would require too much effort on his part. Crabb and Goyle were most likely eating again and thus have nothing else on their mind. I closed my eyes and let a single tear slip, I'm not important enough too worry about but they are all over Potter. I know it's mostly my fault for being a git but it still hurt.

My eyes shot open when a soft hand landed on my cheek and wiped the tear away. Astoria's blue eyes were shining with sympathy as she moved her hand from my face down to my arm and just let it rest there. She began to speak in a warm tone and said, "I thought you could use some company and I figured no one else was going to come."

This statement caused me to squeeze her hand with my other one as I said, "Astoria you don't have to sit here with me." She simply flashed a breathtaking smile and said, "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't, everyone needs someone who cares Draco and it looks like I'm your person " That was the moment that I realized she would risk everything for me and the least I could do was repay her friendship in kind. If she ever needed anything I would do it, it was good to finally have a real friend. My eyes caught slight movement in the doorway and I caught a glimpse of black scales, what on earth. Then a piercing scream was heard and teachers started to rush down the hallway. This can't be good.