Draco's P.O.V

After dropping Astoria off I made my way down to the new defense against the dark arts room that was now going to double as dueling club. My thoughts were swirling in my head as my feet carried me down the corridor. My inner voice began to berate me and said, "Well aren't we the pathetic one, she has seen you vulnerable twice, next thing you know she will be asking if you need help" It was funny the way my inner voice sounded more like my father than I. He would have a full panic attack if he knew someone saw me as something less than a perfect ice sculpture. The words she said continued to bang around in my head and said, "Make your own opinions and paths"

It hurt my pride to realize that perhaps she was right. My brain quickly forgot about all of these complicated thoughts when I opened the door for my first class however. My slate grey eyes scanned the room and saw that several changes had been made to the space. The most noticeable thing was there was now a long rectangular stage set up in the middle of the room it was light blue with a pattern that looked like a crescent moon and stars.

My eyes fell on the new defense against the dark arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart, in my opinion he was a blowhard and did not know the first thing about defending oneself. His blue eyes fell on me as his golden hair shone under the light and he said in a dramatic tone, "Welcome to dueling club young man there is nothing for you too do right now but if you wish to practice go ahead" He then turned around and started messing with his hair while looking into a mirror, it was quite disturbing.

Soon the rest of the rabble came pilling in like the wild animals they were. Professor Snape was also part of the massive mob but he kept walking after the students stopped, he raised his eyebrow as professor Lockhart offered a hand to shake. A snigger escaped me professor Snape knew he was above all this, he really is a smart man. Professor Lockhart cleared his throat and said in a lofty tone, "My name is Gilderoy Lockhart and as you all know I'm the new defense against the dark arts teacher. It is my philosophy that the best way to learn is through experience so in order to master the protective spells you have already learned you shall be dueling against each other. You are also wondering why I've dragged your favorite potions master up here. The simple fact is I need a demonstration partner and he fits the bill. Now watch carefully students."

He and professor Snape walked to the center and held their wands in front of their faces before flicking them down to their side and bowing, they then turned and started walking. They walked ten paces and then turned and counted to three. Professor Snape landed expeliamus on professor Lockhart who then flew backwards. He quickly stood up however and tried to play off the fact that he had just been completely owned. He then called Harry Potter or as he was know to me The boy who lived to be a pain in my butt.

Professor Snape then called my name and all of a sudden Potter and I were eye to eye. My tone was smug as I said, "What's wrong scared Potter?" He simply replied, "You wish Malfoy" We turned and walked but before Potter could count to three I turned and used a spell, it was dishonest but losing to Potter was something that would be inexcusable. He got up quickly and cast a stunning spell that caused me to land undignified in front of professor Snape, a sheepish smile graced my lips as he pulled me up and basically tossed me back into the match. This time a snake erupted from the tip of my wand and began making its way over to Potter, he then started to speak to the snake before it was destroyed. After that little incident the bell rang for the next class which happened to be herbology.

The bell finally dismissed the Slytherin quidditch team from our meeting, my position was going to be seeker that put me against Potter directly. It would be nice to win and rub my glory in his ugly face. This was about the only bright spot in my day so far, first Astoria saw weakness then I lost to Potter in dueling club. That was then followed by the shame of being bitten by a mandrake root and Longbottom fainting on me.

Potions right after that had been a terrible mess as well Crabbe and Goyle somehow wound up as my partners which made me question professor Snape's sanity. Then while I had my back turned to get some leeches to put in the potion, Goyle added in some devils snare, why he ever thought that was a good idea is beyond my comprehension. The cauldron then shot up in the air and started zooming around like a pixie that had to much coffee. My jaw fell to the ground as it zoomed through the air and I dropped the jar of leeches which created a mess. Then just when I thought life was done playing cruel tricks on me, professor Snape walked out of the storage cabinet at the wrong time and got winged in the head by the cauldron, it finally stopped moving and Snape turned to look at us with fire blazing in his eyes. The bumbling duo were both pointing at me and just when it looked like professor Snape was going to lay into me, he promptly wobbled and fainted.

This was the perfect day for one to contemplate their outlook on karam maybe there is something to it. Then to top it all off on my way to the quidditch meeting some fourth year was messing with weather spell and caused it to start pouring cats and dogs. By the time I got to the great hall I was thoroughly soaked to the bone l could have cast a drying charm but with the way my emotions were raging, it probably would have turned into a angry blast and hit someone in the face.

I strode into the great hall with my head held high today may not have been my bloody day but I was the Slytherin prince and therefore commanded respect. The bumbling duo quickly vacated their seats on either side of Astoria and shot to the other end of the table, good it looks like they have basic survival instincts. Astoria looked at me and patted the bench beside her and said in a melodic tone, "It was a terrible day for you huh?" I simply nodded my head and reached for some pumpkin juice and sandwiches, Astoria then pulled out her wand an cast a drying spell on me wordlessly. It felt so much better to have dry robes and she waved it once again and healed the bruise from dueling club that was on my chest.

Then words escaped my mouth unbidden and I said the one thing I was taught never to say, "Thank you for the help would you like to watch quidditch practice after lunch" she simply nodded and said, "You will never guess what Professor Flitwick told me. He said it was like having Hermione Granger in first year all over again!" I simply nodded my head and wondered why she was so proud to be associated with mud-blood Granger. We finished the rest of lunch and discussed our respective days, the bell then rung and I took her hand and lead her too the pitch. We soon caught sight of the glorious trio however. It was time to prove I was still a tough Malfoy.