Beyond Appearances

Title: Beyond Appearances


Author: Liadyn Malfoy


Archived: Fanfiction.net & adult-fanfiction.org


Summary: Harry and Draco are returning to Hogwarts for their seventh year. Though this year is different. Alliances are formed and together they learn that there is always something beyond the appearance and that everyone wears a mask.


Rating: NC-17


Pairings: Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione...may be others!!


Beta: Candlewyk


Disclaimer: Hey There Guys!!! I know you already know this but I have to tell you again. I don not own Harry Potter or anything related to him. I'm not making money off of any of my stories. I just do this for the fun of it.





Chapter One
Mixed Thoughts




Harry Potter sat staring at the walls of his small bedroom at number 4 Privet Dr, waiting for his uncle to leave the house. Since he had come home from his sixth year at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry this had become part of his daily routine. He'd wake every morning and wait until he heard Uncle Vernon's newest company car pull out of the driveway, before going to make an appearance in the kitchen. After a small breakfast usually consisting of a piece of cold toast or half a grapefruit, his aunt would ship him outside to work in the gardens until Vernon was scheduled to return. Then it was back up to his room until the morning.


Over the years as Harry's magical abilities grew so did his uncle's hatred from him, to the point where his aunt had taken measures to prevent Vernon from seriously harming him. She may have disliked him but he was her sister's only son. She did not want the fact that she had let her husband harm him hanging over her. The locks on Harry's door were not just to keep him in but also to keep Vernon out.


As the wheels screeched down the driveway, signaling Vernon's departure, Harry stood and pulled on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. The only improvement to being at the Dursley's was that he no longer had to where Dudley's old clothing.


"It took you long enough." Petunia snapped, looking up from the dishes she had been washing. "The temperature is already in the twenties and my flowers are dying. If so much as one tulip dies you will find yourself up to your ears in fertilizer. Is that clear?"


Harry refrained from rolling his eyes at the threat. She had used the same one everyday for the past six weeks and he had a sneaking suspicion that she would continue using it until he returned to King's Cross Station.


"Yes, Aunt Petunia."


"Good, now take your breakfast outside." She instructed, pointing to the apple and bottle of water on the table. "I'm going out for a while so no funny business, got it?"


"Yes, Aunt Petunia." Harry replied, picking up his food. His aunt following to hustle him out of the back door, making sure to lock it behind him.


He watched her go, a grim smile playing at the corner of his mouth. Since childhood he had sat through countless Christmas celebrations, watching as Dudley opened countless gifts while he received none. He had watched them celebrate birthdays while his own went by unnoticed, and yet he could not blame them. One cannot fear what they don't acknowledge and one fears what they don't understand. It was the story of his life.


Setting his food on the step he headed to the flowerbeds. In a way he thanked his aunt for bestowing this task upon him. It gave him time to piece together all his thoughts. No matter what had been on his mind, working in the gardens always left him calm. Nothing but flying worked better.


Kneeling down he began to work, pulling out the weeds that insisted on invading the beds and watering the soil. Taking extra care to ensure that each flower would survive the weather because that was were his thoughts seemed to stray. Survival. That one word plaguing his mind. Why was it that he could so easily survive a deadly confrontation while others could not? There was nothing different between him and one of the many people who had lost their lives at Voldemort's hands. Why did he linger while others did not.




He almost didn’t hear the loud pop echoing through the backyard. He stared in contemplative silence as a pair of run down sneakers landed on his flowers, trampling them into the earth. He didn’t really believe in destiny but he did believe that there's a time and place for everything. As easily as life could be given it could be taken away.


"Oops, sorry mate!" Ron Weasley gasped, jumping out of the flowerbed. "It's still a bit awkward."


Harry glanced up at his friend. Ron had grown yet again over the summer so that he now stood roughly six feet two inches. His hair was a bit longer but as red as ever and a lopsided grin graced his features. No matter how different he looked he'd always be the same boy he had met on the train in first year.


"Ron?"


"Need a hand?" Ron grinned, helping Harry to his feet. "What is it with you and plants? First you start hanging around the school greenhouses with Neville and now I find you on your hands and knees, covered in dirt, in the Dursley's backyard garden."


"It calms me."


"So does flying."


"The difference between flying and gardening is an unconscious muggle at the sight of something abnormal."


"There is nothing abnormal about flying."


"Is riding to school on an elephant abnormal?"


"Yes." Ron answered, raising an eyebrow at the question.


"Not to those who actually ride an elephant to school."


"Touché." Ron grinned. "Do people really ride elephants to school?"


Harry rolled his eyes with a sigh. "I don't know Ron. I'm sure somewhere someone rides an elephant to school."


Before Ron could comment there was a loud knock on the front door that brought them back to their surroundings.




"That's probably Hermione." Ron gulped, heading towards the house. Harry followed knowing full well that he would have a lot of explaining to do. "Hey! What's up with the door?"


Harry grinned. "It's called a lock, Ron."


"I know what it is. Why is it locked?"


"So I can't leave the backyard."


"Instead of locking you in your room they lock you in the backyard." Ron scoffed. "Well I guess it's a step up. It's kinda pointless though. I mean you're of age so a simple Alohamora would unlock it."


Harry watched as Ron performed the spell and entered the house.


"I don't have my wand."


"What?" Ron gasped, spinning around. "Why not?"


"It's locked away with the rest of my stuff."


"You mean to tell me that you have been sitting outside with no firepower while your number one on the Dark Lords hit list?"


"Has Hermione been letting you watch Gangster movies again?"


"Yes...but that's not the point."


"Well then, what is?"


"The point is that for the past six weeks you-know-who could have shown up and you had no way of protecting yourself." Ron lectured, doing a pretty good imitation of his mother. "You could have been hurt or worse killed."


"Ron how many times could I have been killed at Hogwarts when I had my wand?" Harry asked, pulling open the door.


Harry had just enough time to brace himself before Hermione launched herself at him, embracing him in a bone-crushing hug. When she pulled away she was grinning from ear to ear. The first thing that Harry noticed was that unlike Ron she had not grown but remained her 5 feet 7 inches. And her waist length hair and been pulled back into a braid instead of hanging loose the way she normally wore it.


"It is so good to see you." She smiled, until she spotted her boyfriend lurking in the background. "Ronald Weasley! I thought we were supposed to meet in the front yard. Honestly, it's a surprise you even passed your exam! Where did you end up sending yourself?"




Ron scanned the room quickly, looking for a way to change the subject. Unfortunately the only thing his eyes landed on was Harry. "Um...Harry doesn’t have his wand."


"What?" She gasped, turning to Harry. "Is that true?"


"Thanks a lot, Ron." Harry said, sending a glare at his best friend. Ron gave him a sheepish smile; he was glad that for once he had not been on the receiving end of one of Hermione's lectures.


"How can you not have your wand?" Hermione questioned, ignoring their exchange. "Where is it?"


"If you wanted to know he landed in the garden and trampled my beautiful flowers." Harry replied, entering the living room and throwing himself onto the couch.


"Ron, you idiot! Go fix his flowers. Harry, explain to me why you don't have your wand and it had better be a good reason." Hermione ordered, hands on her hips and her foot tapping impatiently.


With a sympathetic look to Harry, Ron fled the room. Harry watched him go with a defeated sigh. There was absolutely no way around this.


"I'm waiting."


"It's with the rest of my stuff."


"Where is the rest of your stuff?"


"Locked away."


"What? Where?"


"Under the stairs."


"Everything is there?"


"Yep."


"Even your schoolwork?"


"Especially my schoolwork."


"Have you done any of your summer assignments?"


"Not one."


"Oh, Harry." Hermione cried, plopping down on the couch beside him. "There is no way that we can get all of them done in the next two weeks. What are we going to do?"


"I don't have to do them in two weeks."




"Why not?"


"Dumbledore knows that I can't access my schoolbooks over the summer holidays. If I can't get them done then he allows an extension period."


"Does he know about your wand?"


"No. That only started this summer."


"Why do that now?"


"Because they knew that once I turned seventeen I would be able to use magic outside of school." Harry explained. "They didn’t want me to use it against them. They thought it was in the interest of their safety."


"But you wouldn’t have hurt them."


"I've threatened to do it before and that was when I wasn't able to use magic. What would have happened now that I can?"


"Nothing would have happened, Harry." Hermione assured, placing a gentle hand on his arm. Harry never said anything but his biggest fear was not dementors or even death. The one thing that he was truly afraid of was turning into someone like Voldemort. Each time he used Parseltongue or had to use magic against someone he was reminded of how many similarities he shared with Voldemort. "You're not like that."


Harry smiled, gently pulling his friend into a hug. "Thanks Mione. I know that sometimes I can be a little stupid but well, thanks again."


"That's what friends are for. Now tell me where your trunk is. There is no way that Mrs. Weasley is going to allow me to leave you here."


"Down the hall and it's the small door on your left."


"Be back in a minute." Hermione sang, leaving the room. A moment later her head reappeared around the door. You might want to go check on Ron. I don't think he knows any gardening spells."


Harry grimaced at the thought of what Ron could be doing to his flowers.


"Exactly." Hermione laughed, before disappearing once again out into the hallway.


Harry got up and headed back outside. He found Ron on his hands and knees in the same spot that he had been found in earlier. His wand was pointed at the mess of flowers. He was trying to use enervate on the trampled flowers but they would only quiver before falling still.


Hearing Harry approaching Ron gave a frustrated sigh. "How the hell do you fix these things?"


"You could use a spell designed for plants instead of one that is designed for humans. Plants tend to not be so complicated."


"I don't know any."


"Herbulos Groso will work just fine."


Ron raised an eyebrow but performed the spell. Almost instantly, the flowers jumped back up. "You know you and all this plant knowledge is freaking me out."


"Why's that?"


"Having two Neville's in the same room would scare anyone. It would be like having two Hermione's in study hall. Everyone would be doing their homework properly."


"Don't let her hear you say that." Harry laughed.


"So has the storm passed?"


"Yep."


"On a scale from one to ten how destructive was it?"




"About a 2."




"A 2? Is that all?"


"Yep."


"Of course you get a 2 and I get a damn 11." Ron pouted, kicking the dirt.


"That's probably because you have a tendency to push the wrong buttons."


"Tell me about it."


"Tell you about what?" Hermione asked, coming out of the house, Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage floating out behind her.


"Nothing." Ron said quickly, trying to appear innocent.




Hermione rolled her eyes but didn't question. "Was there anything else, Harry?"


"Nope, everything is in that trunk."


"Everything?"


"Yep."


Hermione frowned. "Looks like we have some major shopping to do before school starts."


"If you say so."


"Good! Now that that's done let's go. I'm starving."


"Ron you are always starving."


"Last one back to my house fancies Bulstrode!" Ron cheered, disapparating with a loud pop.


Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "Sometimes I wonder how thick his skull really is."


"He's your boyfriend."


"He's your best friend."


With another loud pop Ron appeared in the garden, a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry about that I forgot that you hadn't taken your exam yet."


Hermione laughed and grabbed Harry's hand in her left and the hand of the trunk in her right. Ron did the same on the other side, forming a tight circle.


"Ready?"


"Ready!"


With a pop they disappeared as one.