Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am not making profit off of Rowling's amazing work.

"You don't want to be making friends with the wrong sort." Draco offered his hand to Harry. "I can help you there."

Harry's green eyes stared back at him frostily. "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he replied.

Draco's pale face flushed pink again from the memory. "Who does he think he is," he huffed out loud.

Vince and Greg guffawed loudly. Draco stared at them coldly until the two buffoons realized that he hadn't said anything funny. Idiots, he thought.

"Harry Potter," he muttered, turning away from his friends. He scuffed his feet as he walked towards the Great Hall, Vince and Greg trailing behind. Since meeting Harry Potter on the train, life hasn't gotten much better. Sure, he had fit in alright with his fellow Slytherins, but Draco had never wanted to just fit in. He wanted to stand above the rest. To excel. To be admired. But that was proving to be impossible with Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, in his year. Everyone at the school practically fell over themselves to please Harry Potter – he had even received a Nimbus Two Thousand after doing some fancy tricks during their first flying class. Then, the school had bent the rule that prevented first years from bringing brooms, creating an exception for Potter. Because he was so special. Draco snorted – he knew he could do better. After all, hadn't he been flying since he could grasp a broom?

His studies weren't so hot either. In every class that he had with Gryffindors, that bushy-haired brunette – what was her name? Oh yes, Hermione Granger – showed him up. He was a Pureblood, raised and born into magic, so how did the Mudblood girl seem to know more than he did? Draco knew he wasn't stupid or lazy, but no matter how diligently he studied, he remained second in the class.

The only class going well for him was Potions, and while Draco already knew he had talent for the subject, he also knew that others suspected Professor Snape of favoritism. Well it wasn't his fault that his parents and Snape were good friends. Draco felt it was so unfair. All the other teachers favored Harry Potter, yet still praised him for being so talented. But when Draco excelled, it was attributed to his family's connections.

And now it was Halloween. Bats fluttered throughout the Great Hall, and carved pumpkins of all shapes and sizes decorated the tables. Draco grinned in delight, thoughts of Potter disappearing. As he sat down at the Slytherin table, he pointed at a particularly round pumpkin. "That one kinda looks like you, right Vince?"

Vince chuckled and the three boys instantly relaxed, Draco's moodiness over. As the food appeared on their golden plates, they tucked in.

Draco was spooning another heap of buttery mashed potatoes into his mouth when Professor Quirrell rushed in. "Troll – in the dungeons," he gasped, then sank to the floor and fainted.

In the ensuing uproar, Draco saw Harry and Ron splitting off from the Gryffindor group. He narrowed his eyes. What were they up to?

His lips curved into a slow smile. The two Gryffindors were definitely up to no good - and who else to catch them if not Draco Malfoy?

He quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then slipped away. Weasley's bright red hair made them easy to follow. He nearly lost them when they merged into a stream of Hufflepuffs but soon caught sight of them again when they turned into an empty side corridor.

A horrible odor drifted to him, and Draco was reminded of the nauseating smell of Vince's dirty socks. He struggled not to vomit and ducked behind a large stone statue. When the twelve-foot troll appeared, his grey eyes almost popped out of his head. Thoughts of catching Potter or Weasley redhanded disappeared and it was all he could do to not hiss out at the two idiots to get away from the monster.

The troll slumped into a room and he watched as Potter and Weasley ran up and locked the door. Brilliant!, he thought admiringly, despite himself. Then he heard the scream.

The two Gryffindors heard it too, and they turned to each other and yelled, "Hermione!" They spun around, unlocked the door, and rushed inside.

Without thinking, Draco ran in behind them. He instantly recognized the girls' bathroom. Or what was left of it. Sinks were torn off the wall, water was squirting everywhere, with metal debris lying strewn around. The brown-haired know-it-all was pressed up against the far wall. The troll moved slowly towards her, hefting its club to attack.

"Confuse it!" He heard Harry scream. As Ron ran towards a metal pipe on the other side of the room, Draco looked around desperately. His eyes locked onto Hermione's, her eyes wide and glassy, reflecting his own fear.

Harry threw a piece of metal at the troll. The monster didn't even grunt.

"Oy, pea-brain!" Ron yelled.

As the troll turned to the voice, Draco felt his legs carrying him forward. What was he doing? He was no stupidly brave Gryffindor! He tried to stop but slipped on the wet floor and slid straight for the troll. He squeezed his eyes shut and screamed shrilly, sure he was about to be crushed.

Instead he fell onto something unexpectedly soft. Opening his eyes, he found himself face to face with Granger. Somehow he had avoided the troll's legs. Blushing furiously he panicked and pushed her away, sending her spinning across the slippery floor. The force also pushed him back, towards the back corner - when the enormous wooden club crashed into the space where they had both been just a moment ago.

A piercing howl filled the bathroom and Draco instinctively covered his ears. He looked up and saw Harry perched on the trolls back, shoving a - was that his WAND? - up the monster's nose!

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he heard Ron yell. The club flew up from where it was lying on the floor to smack the troll on the head. It swayed heavily. Draco barely scrambled out of the way before the twelve-foot monstrosity crashed onto the floor.

Harry pulled his wand out of the troll's nose and bent to wipe it off. Ron stood across the room, staring at his old hand-me-down wand, a dazed grin on his face. Hermione was still crumpled on the ground, shaking, her face pale. Draco took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, then immediately regretted it. Boy did the troll stink.

"Is it - dead?" Hermione spoke first, her voice higher than normal.

"I don't think so," Harry said. He inspected his wand. "Urgh, troll boogers."

Draco couldn't help it - he started giggling nervously. The Gryffindors turned to stare at him, and then suddenly the bathroom echoed with laughter. Harry clutched his wand in one arm, the other holding his stomach as he laughed. Ron's head was thrown back, his eyes sparkling. And even the little know-it-all Hermione was trying to hide her snorts as she leaned back against the wall.

Draco had just managed to stand up when he heard the door burst open. McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell rushed in. Snape bent to inspect the troll as McGonagall began to scold them. Draco wanted to turn invisible and pretend he wasn't there when Hermione spoke up.

"Please Professor McGonagall, they were looking for me. I went looking for the troll because I - I thought I could deal with it - because you know, I've read all about them."

Ron's wand clattered to the ground. Draco nearly slumped back onto the floor as he heard the lie roll off her tongue. Hermione? Lie?

McGonagall eyed her. Draco had the strange feeling that she knew that Hermione was fibbing. "Five points from Gryffindor. I am very disappointed in you," she said.

Draco watched as Hermione left. Then McGonagell turned to the remaining three boys.

"Potter, Weasley, and - Malfoy is it?" Draco forced a small nod and saw Snape look up from the troll.

McGonagall looked at them appraisingly. "Five points to your respective houses for each of you," she said. "Not many first years would have been able to do what you just did. However foolish, it takes both bravery and cunning to knock out a full-grown mountain troll. Professor Dumbledore will hear of this. You may leave."

The three boys nodded then left the bathroom. Once outside, Harry turned to Draco.

"Looks like I misjudged you," he said. He offered his hand. Shocked, Draco shook it.

Ron stared suspiciously at the Slytherin for a second, then his facial features relaxed. He also stuck out his hand. "If you hadn't pushed her away - blimey, well, you saved Hermione's life there." Draco also grasped it.

"Looks like you aren't the wrong sort after all," he replied, feeling a smile sneak its way across his face.

The three boys grinned at each other for a minute. There was an embarrassing pause, then they quickly said their goodbyes and turned away to return to their Houses.

However unlikely, from that moment on, Draco, Hermione, Ron, and Harry became friends. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.

Please review! I plan on following the plot of the books. Draco is less of a brat but is still very Slytherin. As he grows up and You-Know-Who rises, which side will he choose?